The world's greenest passenger plane is expected to be put into use in 2050

It takes only two and a half hours from London to Tokyo

Airbus's parent company, EADS, announced on the 19th that it will build the world's first Zero Emission Supersonic Airliner (ZEHST). This type of rocket-type aircraft, like the "Concordia" passenger aircraft, uses three sets of engines, four times the speed of sound, and is expected to be put into use in 2050. By then, it will take two and a half hours to fly from Paris to Tokyo. And now, this journey takes 11.5 hours.

5000 km/h is 4 times the speed of sound

It is reported that the maximum speed of this type of aircraft can reach 3125 miles (about 5,029 kilometers per hour), which is four times the speed of sound. With this speed, this rocket-type aircraft will only take 20 minutes to fly from London to Malaga in the south of Spain, 30 minutes to Istanbul, and approximately 1 hour to the east coast of the United States. Travelling from London to Tokyo by this rocket-type aircraft is about 9 hours shorter than before, and it takes about 3 and a half hours to fly to Sydney.

When preparing to land, the supersonic plane will shut the engine first, slowly gliding toward the land, and restarting the normal engine when approaching the surface.

Fares: Paris to New York 6000 Euros

It is reported that this new aircraft is like a light American space shuttle. It will take a minimum of 10 years of research and development before it is expected to conduct its first test flight. European Airlines has been cooperating with Japan for five years and intends to introduce a prototype by 2020. EU Aviation Chief Executive Officer Louis Gallois said that it may take 30 to 40 years for "zero emission supersonic aircraft" to enter commercial operations.

Jean-Pauli, Chief Technology Officer of the European Airlines Group, said that the maximum acceleration of a zero-emission supersonic aircraft is 1.2 times the acceleration of gravity, and passengers are under limited pressure. “No special equipment and training are required.” However, the fares of such aircraft are natural. A lot of money, according to current estimates, the fare from Paris to New York will be around 6,000 euros.

Up to 100 passengers are not highly commercial

This kind of aircraft will be for business travelers. Each passenger aircraft can only carry 100 passengers. Aviation experts said that carrying too little passenger capacity is a major drawback of this type of aircraft. David Kaminsky Morrow, editor of the air transport of International Flying magazine, pointed out: "To a large extent, this is a concept airplane, but it is technically feasible under this passenger load situation. The real difficulty is how to be economical and put a brand new aircraft into commercial operation. From the drawing board to the final flight to the blue sky, the cost of the development of this aircraft is billions of dollars. We can't help asking, really. Is it necessary to develop an aircraft that does not carry a lot of passengers?"

Environmental Protection: Hydrogen Oxygen Drive

This type of rocket-based aircraft will use three different types of engines during different phases of flight to reduce noise and meet environmental requirements.

The aircraft will use the biofuel extracted from the seaweed to propel the turbojet engine to take off, fly to a certain altitude and switch to the low-temperature engine used by the Ariane rocket. The rocket engine, powered by hydrogen and oxygen, will only expel water vapor, propel the aircraft to an altitude of 20 kilometers, switch to the stratosphere and then switch to a ramjet for cruise missiles, accelerate to cruising speed, and advance to an altitude of 32 kilometers. Existing passenger aircraft can only reach a height of 10 kilometers.

When flying above the atmosphere, passengers cannot hear anything.

Competition: Pressure on Boeing

At the Paris Air Show held on the 20th, the European Aerospace Defense Group displayed a model of a "zero-emission supersonic aircraft" up to 4 meters long. The Paris Air Show is only open to professionals from the 20th to the 23rd and is open to the public from the 24th to the 26th.

Bonty said: “There is nothing new about the 'zero emissions supersonic aircraft'. Everything is a prior technology. This is not a spacecraft, nor is it a rocket. This is a commercial rocket aircraft. I think the future of the aircraft will be like 'zero emissions'. Like supersonic aircraft, this type of aircraft does not cause pollution and can always fly in the stratosphere."

The largest rival of European Airlines, the Boeing Company, is also developing a new supersonic aircraft and has already conducted an unmanned test. The European airline’s first attempt to unveil the “zero-emission supersonic aircraft” was seen as an attempt to suppress Boeing’s momentum.