LAPCAT A2, the Next Concorde?
The LAPCAT A2 project is a European design project to come up with a next generation aircraft. LAPCAT stands for Long-Term Advanced Propulsion Concepts and Technologies, it’s aim is to design a aircraft traveling at Mach 5 that can get from Europe to Australia in 2 to 4 hours. Reaction Engines Limited is the team behind the A2 and they are really changing the way we think about aircraft design, The hypersonic aircraft long shape is twice as long as a 747 yet due heat issues will not contain any windows. A new type of engine running on liquid hydrogen known as the Scimitar Engine developed from Space launch technology would also need to be used. At 143m length the A2 could accommodate 300 passengers, the design brief is to make the costs of travel around the cost of a business class fare but don’t save up for your ticket just yet as this is just a design study and it could be more than twenty years that anything resembling the A2 makes it to the production lines if at all.
http://www.reactionengines.co.uk/lapcat.html
Add comment March 28th, 2008
