Could you imagine flying from Australia to Europe in less time that it takes to fly across our own country?
Apparently you don’t have to imagine, because two military scientists say they’re close to making it a reality.
The geniuses (as declared by KarryOn) are working on hypersonic travel, which would (almost literally) propel holidaymakers from Sydney to London in two hours, The Telegraph reported.
Sounds like take off would be a little like…
The pair said they recently successfully completed an engine trial that reached the target speed to Mach 7.5 (around seven times the speed of sound) and believe they could be on track to launch the speedy service in 2018.
Alex Zelinsky, the Aussie scientist, believes that when the hypersonic aircraft takes off, it will revolutionise global air travel.
“You could fly long distances over the Earth very, very quickly.”
Michael Smart, Military Scientist
This isn’t the only project in the works designed to speed up international air travel, the UK government recently put $130 million into the development of a next generation jet propulsion engine.
Image: ImaginActiv
The engine will operate a five times the speed of sound and make it possible for travel from Sydney to London in four hours, potentially less.
These faster engines would come in handy for airlines like Qantas, which has indicated on several occasions that its keen to fly non-stop to the UK by 2017.
