“Welcome aboard the Skreemr, the world’s first hypersonic aircraft that can outpace the speed of sound, please follow our safety instructions in case of an emergency”. No, this is not a line from a sci-fi novel, however this may well be the welcoming words of flight attendants in just a few years on from now. The Skreemr, developed by Charles Bombardier a Canadian engineer, harnesses nascent technology to reach speeds over Mach 10. That means travelling at a speed of 7,673 miles per hour (or 12,345 km/h), a speed faster than that of sound and five times faster than a Concorde.
While still very much just a concept plan today, if Bombardier has his figures right this could see people commuting between London and New York in just 30 minutes. In all likelihood commuters will be spending more time getting past customs and collecting their luggage than they would flying to their destination.
The aircraft would achieve these supersonic speeds through a magnetic railgun launching system. Like any other aircraft, the plane hurtles along a railroad track horizontally, but then instead of a gradual rise upwards, rockets would blast catapulting the aircraft into speed that ignite its scramjet engine. Once ignited the extreme speed of the Scramjet will enable the plane to rise upwards.
The scramjet engine, the secret weapon behind the Skreemr, has various models being developed in America and China. NASA explains that the Scramjet is able to achieve these incredible feats of speed as is combusts oxygen from the atmosphere that it then passes through the vehicle, rather than from a tank onboard. This makes the aircraft lighter, smaller, and thereby faster.
However, as of yet there are still many hurdles to cross over before this becomes a reality, particularly in relation to temperature control. An aircraft travelling at Mach 5 reaches temperature levels of 980C, therefore much of the challenge will be in sourcing affordable materials that can withstand these extreme temperatures.
The wait for the Skreemr may be a fair while, so get comfortable as you’ll have to make do with the sci-fi novels
