'Son of Concorde' to fly London to Sydney journey in four hours

26 June, 2012

Sonic boom forced the first supersonic jet Concorde to retire from the aviation industry in 2003 but the US engineers are set to roll out X-54, another supersonic jet, which they claim has been shaped for low sonic boom.

THE US aeronautical engineers are racing towards developing the first supersonic commercial passenger airliner. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Gulfstream, backed by NASA claim the 'son of Concorde' prototype would cover the London – Sydney distance in just four hours.

According to the Sunday Times, all these companies claim that the jet will overcome 'Sonic Boom' which was the biggest obstacle of now defunct Concorde. "The fact that the big boys are all close confirms industry rumours that a new generation of supersonic planes is now, finally, within reach," a Gulfstream engineer told the Sunday Times.

"The jets will carry passengers at speeds in excess of 4000 km/h, allowing them to cruise in luxury from London to Sydney, just over 16,000km away" in four hours, adds the paper. The engineers claim that the jet will create a sound 'closer to a puff or plop'.

At next month's Farnborough air show in London along with other supersonic prototypes, the jet's design would be sketched out. "Lighter composite materials, more advanced engines and smaller fuselages could enable new jets to travel about twice as fast as Concorde, which flew at up to 2187 km/h," noted The Sunday Times.

Codenamed X-54, wouldn’t fly until after 2020, which means a full-sized jet could be available by 2030, assuming the new technology was reliable and successful.

Gulfstream’s new G650 is currently the fastest subsonic executive jet, which can fly 7, 000 miles at a 46mph and has a top speed of just 704mph.

In 1976, the Anglo-French Concorde started its services before retiring in 2003 after flying for 27 years. The jet was a symbol of advanced engineering and cut the usual 8-hour flight time to New York to three-and-a-half hours.

After an accident on 25 July 2000 that killed all 100 passengers and crew members on board, lesser number of travellers chose Concorde and coupled with the sonic boom, the airline had to retire from the aviation industry.