An American airline publicly demonstrated its new hypersonic aircraft prototype for the first time, claiming that this aircraft can fly at Mach 5, and once put into use, it can greatly shorten the flight time. The company hopes that this type of aircraft can make its first flight next year at the earliest.
"Quatma" Hypersonic Aircraft Prototype
"Quatma" Hypersonic Aircraft Prototype
The hypersonic aviation startup named Hermeus recently announced the prototype of its "Quarter Horse" hypersonic aircraft, and showed the ignition of the engine. Although the aircraft has been in a static state throughout the ceremony, the company is still full of confidence in its first flight next year.
Ignition demonstration of "Quatma" hypersonic aircraft prototype
Ignition demonstration of "Quatma" hypersonic aircraft prototype
According to the company, this aircraft uses a turbine-based combined cycle (TBCC) engine based on a gas turbine engine. The structure of this engine is to combine a ramjet or scramjet with a more traditional turbojet engine. The gas turbine uses the J85 turbojet engine provided by General Electric, which has been widely used in many types of aircraft. According to the company, this aircraft can fly at supersonic speed (that is, the maximum speed of Mach 5), and once the aircraft is put into operation, the flight time from new york to London will be shortened from the current 7 hours to 90 minutes.