Supersonic Passenger Aircraft Prototype of the Future: Lapcat A2

The European project called Lapcat, which is similar to #Skreemr aircraft, was created with an aim of reviving the hypersonic engines and turning super- and hypersonic aircrafts into a means of future transport.



Before we continue with this review, please take a look at this short video presentation:


Air Transport of the Future: Hypersonic Lapcat A2 Passenger Plane

Recently this task was picked up by the company called the Reaction Engines Limited A2, who are planning to build upon the engineering thoughts of Lapcat (development of hypersonic engines, capable of reaching speeds up to 4.8 Mach) and develop a hypersonic aircraft, which will be capable to withstand such speeds.



According to the plan, the current prototype is going to use the Sabre engine, which is famous for its unique air-cooling technology. As the air goes though the engine, the special technology cools it to an extremely low temperature of just -150 degrees Celsius (-238 degrees Fahrenheit) in only 0.01 seconds.



Such engine qualities allow it to push to harder and further that even the most powerful engines on modern market, so the aviation of the future is bound to be faster or we could say ridiculously fast. The Sabre engine will be first tested to work with the equipped Lapcat A2 – supersonic passenger aircraft.



The of Lapcat and Lapcat II missions, according to Reaction Engines Limited, have accumulated enough aviation engineering thoughts to create a functioning civilian airliner called the A2. The Lapcat A2 aircraft will carry 300 passengers at speeds up to Mach 5. It’s believed A2 will be fast enough to cover the distance between London and Sydney in just 4 hours.



According to the most optimistic predictions, a commercially usable aircraft may carry out its first flight only in 25 years. So in the nearest future, as early as in 2033, a 4-hour flight between remote continents will be a reality.

The developers believe that A2 will be able to cover such long distances thanks to the highly efficient engine that runs on liquid hydrogen. Moreover, not only is this engine powerful and efficient, it’s also ecological, as the main exhaust constituents are the water vapor and an insignificant amount of nitric oxide.


Image credits:

1) www.reactionengines.co.uk/images/lapcata2/lapcata2takeoff1_1024.jpg
2) www.reactionengines.co.uk/images/lapcata2/lapcata2takeoff1_1024.jpg
3) www.reactionengines.co.uk/images_library/lapcat/lapcata2_ground_1l.jpg
4) www.iyftc1oqf704bytwz45ub151.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/A2-Hypersonic-Plane-LAPCAT-II-European-Space-Agency1.jpg
5) www.economicobjectorvism.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/lapcat3.jpg