From London to Aus in just 4 hours, soon?

[Noize]

http://www.reactionengines.co.uk/

[Noize]

BBC Documentary about the 3 engineers who designed it.

[EEVblog]

Unfortunately, flying at Mach 5 is a lot more involved than just getting the engine to work.

Dave.

[vk6zgo]

Yes,the clip gives me that "It's 1969 all over again" feeling!

[notsob]

If you ever saw any 'inside pics' of the concord, 1 rack type panel was almost flush with a vertical divider on take-off, and there was a 100mm gap in flight at max fuselage temp, so heat of the airframe going at high mach speeds, even in the upper atmosphere will need a lot of work.

[SeanB]

Most large aircraft have the avionics cooled, so that they only reach around 120C or so. The skin will normally be at 130c plus from frictional heating at near Mach 1. On fighters part of the cooling is provided by the LOX system evaporator, the rest by evaporating a water alcohol blend to cool bleed air. Pilot gets oxygen cooled air and the electronics gets the blend, the excess being vented. It does not burn.

[Noize]

Unfortunately, flying at Mach 5 is a lot more involved than just getting the engine to work.

Dave.

I think you are totally wrong there, compared to developing that engine the rest will be relatively easy. The SR-71 Blackbird was flying at mach 3.5 with mid sixties tech.

[peter.mitchell]

Bah, who cares about top speed if you still have to wait on the runway... It's all about the F-35B Lightning II now and it's fancy STOVL marketing gimmicks.

[SeanB]

Most air travel is limited by turnaround time. That is why the planes are getting bigger.

[Noize]

Bah, who cares about top speed if you still have to wait on the runway... It's all about the F-35B Lightning II now and it's fancy STOVL marketing gimmicks.

That plane will need its own runway, how slender it is, it is probably landing at the minimum 300mph?

[Sionyn]

kewl dave and mike can do simulcast