Connecting New York to London in an hour by plane is a crazy project of an American company – Ouest-France Evening Edition

The American company Aerion has been working on supersonic aircraft projects for several years. His idea: to be able to travel around the world in less than three hours. The company recently introduced the device that can make dreams come true.

Twice as fast as Concorde: That’s the speed that US aircraft manufacturer Aerion Corporation intends to achieve. The company, which first created supersonic business flights, with its AS2 model aircraft, now deals with long-range aircraft. With an insane goal in mind: to create a device capable of crossing the Atlantic Ocean in an hour, to connect New York with London.

Twice as fast as Concorde

Aerion’s promise: to create a commercial airliner, with a capacity of 50 passengers, all at speeds that can reach speeds from Mach 3 to Mach 5. That is, approximately 3,700 km / h at 6,100 km / h. Almost seven times faster than a traditional long-haul flight. Concorde’s flight speed, which extended its commercial flights from 1976 to 2003, was Mach 2, or 2,145 km / h.

On March 29, 2021, the company unveiled the device that could make this ambitious project a reality: the Aerion AS3. “We want to build a future in which humanity can travel between any point on our planet in less than three hours.” Aerion Executive Vice President Tom explains, In a press release.

The AS3 was born from the positive results of a previous model, the AS2, which is a prototype of a supersonic business flight, which is scheduled to go into production in 2023 and is expected to be commercialized in 2026. The first flight, on the other hand, is scheduled for 2024.

This is the first plane, which can accommodate 8 to 12 passengers, to connect New York and London in 4 hours and 30. A first goal pushes the CEO to “Roll back the limits of the possible”, To ‘A real revolution in global mobility’. Because of this, the company recently teamed up with a major ally to achieve its goals: NASA.

Read also: Plans for supersonic civilian aircraft are multiplying in the United States.

What is the impact on the environment?

The desire to do a better job than Concorde is ambitious, but it does warrant some precautions. One of the arguments that led to the abandonment of the French airliner in 2003 in particular was that of the aircraft’s catastrophic environmental impact. “The Concorde was a great piece of equipment, but it produced a lot of carbon dioxide emissions₂ For the environment, a lot of noise in our communities, and running it was very expensive. “ Tom Vice’s explained CNN Travel In 2020.

In particular, Aerion’s various supersonic aircraft projects will use fuel “ 100% synthetic ”, But also air capture technologies to reduce CO2 emissions₂.

Engineers are also working to solve the hardware sound problem, using technology to suppress noise when hitting the sound barrier, he says Forbes . “We believe we have solved this problem,” The CEO determines CNN. Our aircraft will be as quiet as other airplanes around the airports. “

It remains to be seen when the device can be produced and marketed. Other companies are also busy finding a successor to Concorde, such as the US companies Boom and Virgin Galactic.