New Super(Hyper?)sonic biz jet

[2fast748]

http://metro.co.uk/2016/12/07/antipode-plane-could...

Odds on it ever flying?

[MartG]

Zero

[Eric Mc]

How do you stop the airframe melting at Mach 24?

There is no mention that any of this flight would be outside the atmosphere. Inn that case, the airframe would have to cope with the aerodynamic heat loads of a re-entering spacecraft.

[maffski]

Eric Mc said:

How do you stop the airframe melting at Mach 24?

The article does mention it (although with no detail) - counterflowing long penetration mode - a supersonic jet directed in front of the aircraft diverting the static air - originally suggested as a way of reducing sonic boom. Windtunnel video showing the idea

[Eric Mc]

It sounds a rather dodgy way of protecting the aircraft.

The other factor is maintaining aerodynamic stability at those hypersonic speeds. The X-43 experiments performed by the Americans 9who know a thing or two about winged hypersonic flight) found this really difficult.



The fastest manned flight (excluding re-entering Space Shuttles) is still Mach 6.7 achieved in 1967 in the X-15.

[Foliage]

Eric Mc said:

How do you stop the airframe melting at Mach 24?

There is no mention that any of this flight would be outside the atmosphere. Inn that case, the airframe would have to cope with the aerodynamic heat loads of a re-entering spacecraft.

Magnetic field

[Eric Mc]

I'm not going to say it's impossible but this sounds like it's a LONG way off into the future.

Why bother staying in the atmosphere anyway? At those speeds you are better getting above the atmosphere and carrying on ballistically, re-entering and landing. It solves some of the heating issues and most of the aero stability problems too.