Supersonic plane goes from Beijing to New York in two hours
Chinese scientists design hypersonic aircraft that could carry cargo and passengers from Beijing to New York in two hours.
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China's supersonic aircraft model significantly shortens flight time from Beijing to New York. Photo:SCMP. |
A research team led by scientist Cui Kai is planning to create an aircraft that can reach speeds of nearly 6,000 km/h, taking only about two hours to complete the 11,000 km route between Beijing and New York,Sputnik Newsyesterday reported. Meanwhile, a conventional passenger plane needs 14 hours for the same route.
A small scale model of the aircraft was tested in a special wind tunnel. The prototype features a dual-wing design with two sets of overlapping wings. The dual-wing design reduces turbulence and drag while increasing lift at high speeds, the researchers report in the journal Physics, Mechanics and Astronomy.
However, the plane's lift is much lower than that of current models such as the Boeing 737. If the supersonic plane being developed in China were the same size as the Boeing 737, it would only be able to carry a quarter of the cargo and passengers of its rival: about 50 passengers and 5 tons of cargo compared to the Boeing 737's 700 passengers and 20 tons of cargo.
