A Mach 5 passenger aircraft could travel from New York to London in just 90 minutes. This startup says it's possible
Almost two decades since Concorde retired, interest around supersonic travel has been picking up pace, and several super-fast planes are under development. Airlines seem interested: United has already committed itself to offering supersonic routes as early as 2029.
Routes over land, such as New York to LA, are out of the question due to noise regulations: breaking the sound barrier comes with a loud boom, which usually must happen over water. For an air-breathing aircraft -- that is, powered by jet engines rather than a rocket -- capable of taking off and landing by itself, the speed record is"just" Mach 3.3 , set by the SR-71 Blackbird, a military spy plane, in 1976.
Interestingly, when designing a jet engine to go faster, parts are removed rather than added. In a turbojet, the air enters from the front and is first compressed by rotating blades, then mixed with fuel and ignited. The resulting hot gas is blasted out through the back of the engine, pushing the plane forward.Above Mach 3, however, there's no need to compress the air: It will compress itself upon entering the engine, simply by having to slow down so much.
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