Posted February 12 2008
New Jet Will Get You from New York to Tel Aviv in Under 3 Hours
Imagine flying to Israel and back in a day and still being able to get in a whole day’s worth of work, play and spiritual uplifting. That could be a possibility in the next fifteen years if the A2 Hypersonic Airliner takes flight according to plan.
Dubbed the “Son of Concorde,” the A2 will fly at five times the speed of sound, or Mach 5, and reach a cruising speed of 3,400 mph at an altitude of 100,000 feet. Its hi-tech liquid hydrogen-powered engines will also produce few carbon emissions, making air travel much greener.
According to our math, the A2 will traverse the 5,683 miles by taking off from either JFK or Newark airports, fly quietly and sub-sonically out past any populated area at about Mach 0.9 (just over 700 mph) before reaching Mach 5 across the Atlantic Ocean, and then landing at Ben Gurion airport for a total flight time 2 hours and 28 minutes. The ground-breaking aircraft is the work of British engineers at Reaction Engines Limited in Oxfordshire and is partly funded by the European Space Agency and the European Union.
Via Daily Mail
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14 Comments currently posted. 
Yoni Gross says:
Zechariah Mehler says:
You would think that this plane could actually be cheaper to fly since the fuel is more cost effective. Not only that but you don’t even need to feed the passengers. Imagine being able to just pick up and go to Israel on a whim.
Dave Weinberg says:
From Daily Mail -
“If built, the cost of a ticket on the A2 - which will cruise at an altitude of 100,000ft (30,480m) - from Europe to Australia is estimated to be around £2,000″ (which is $3,895.8 U.S. dollars).
So maybe 2.5-3k to Israel?
Tiffany Sameyah says:
3 grand to go to Israel in 2 1/2 hours? Extremely worth it!
Zechariah Mehler says:
Still way too much. The concord failed because it was so cost prohibitive that only people in an extremely high income bracket could fly it. If this new jet makes their tickets more affordable the volume of people that use it will be astronomical.
Marc Lerman says:
this scares the crap out of me. regular altitude is about 35,000 feet. This is going to be almost three times as high! It’s practically outer space! Also, nothing should be allowed to move that fast. It’s a great idea, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
Dave Weinberg says:
The fact that there are no windows is also going to be pretty hard for people to get their minds around.
spam says:
can someone explain to me the purpose that windows would have on a plane like this. What would you be looking at? “oh look honey, that speck we just flew by was africa. Oh wait, it’s gone already.”
Zechariah Mehler says:
Ever since China used a ICBM to detonate an obsolete satellite there has been something like 200,000 pieces of debris floating in low orbit. If there were windows we could see that. “Look honey its a power couping”
Dave Weinberg says:
It’s a psychological thing, a control issue. Without windows people feel a loss of control and fear sometimes sets in. Windows give you a portal into what’s going on even if you have no control over it and puts you at ease.
Zechariah Mehler says:
I will tell you one thing, with no windows it is going to be a pain for the pilots to see where they are going!
Benji Rosenzweig says:
no windows also makes it hard to tell when being spun out of controll at mach 5.
spam says:
So with no windows, is the flight computer running freeBSD?
Sorry, I had to.
Yair Silbermintz says:
That joke is evil. Just evil.
This is the answer my little brother’s been waiting for. He lives in Israel, and every time he wants to fly into the US, he needs a minimum of 2 days free. He’s probably missing 2 finals for my sister’s wedding this summer. A plane that fast, you could manage a round trip and a wedding in under 18 hours. Anyone who’s ever missed the simcha of a close friend or relative overseas will appreciate what a quick flight like that can mean.
I just hope it doesn’t cost more than most people can afford, or it won’t last.