This is What the Future Airliners Will Probably Look Like

#3 – Reaction Engines A2

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© Inhabitat

Reaction Engines Limited (a British company) developed a futuristic-looking concept for an airliner called A2, which would be able to travel at hypersonic speeds while being environment-friendly.

The A2 airliner uses the Scimitar engine (another design from Reaction Engines) and if you have no idea what the Scimitar engine is, it simply uses technology that’s derived from the SABRE engine (btw, both these engines are hybrid) but while the SABRE relies on rocket engines, the Scimitar uses a normal air-breathing jet engine design along with a hybrid ramjet.

What’s really interesting is that when the Scimitar is traveling at extreme speed, it uses the ramjet, but during landing and takeoff, it employs a high bypass mode that works like a normal jet engine.

The A2 would fly at a hypersonic speed only over unpopulated areas or the ocean due to the excessive sonic noise and would travel at below-the-speed-of-sound over populated areas. The A2’s highest speed would enable it to travel from Australia to northern Europe in only 5 hours!

However, there is only one concern about the A2. It has not a single window because of worries about pressure on the airframe. This can make claustrophobics freak out!

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