This ultra-rapid Airbus takes you to New York in one hour

Can you imagine – go to the airport in Amsterdam, check in, board the plane and land in New York in just over an hour? Taking off at noon will give you a full working day in the Big Apple and time to get back for the return flight in the evening…

Airbus has filed a patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for a supersonic aircraft that would fly at speeds of Mach 4.5 (4.5 times the speed of sound). Even trips half way round the world (like from Paris to Tokyo) could be completed in about three hours.

The concept involves turbojets and a rocket engine that would propel it to speeds more than double what the Concorde could reach. The rocket engine would kick in after the turbojets, and propel the craft vertically to supersonic speeds. Once the rocket engine has done its job, hydrogen-powered, wing-mounted ramjets take over.

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Image by Airbus