FLYING from Paris to New-York in 1.5 hours at Mach 4 !

This is the brand new project being designed by EADS, and supported by Japan as well as the French DGAC (Direction Générale de l’Aviation Civile – FAA or CAA equivalent). The European consortium has just unveiled its ZEHST project as the Paris Air Show 2011 is opening. ZEHST stands for Zero Emission Hypersonic Transportation.

This aircraft would be both a commercial airplane, and a rocket. It could cruise at « flight level 1056 » i.e. 20 miles or 32 kilometers above the mean sea level… The ZEHST specifications feature a speed of Mach 4 but according to the video below, it might reach Mach 4.5 i.e. 5,500 km/h or 3,000 kts through the stratosphere. It would use two independent turbojets for taking off, then it would gain speed thanks to two cryogenic rocket engines, finally two ramjets would propell the aircraft to hypersonic speeds.

The ZEHST is supposed to pollute far less than the Concorde as it would have a main cruise stage in the stratospheric layers, and according to EADS, its carbon footprint should be very low. There could between 60 and 100 passengers on board who could join Tokyo from Paris in 2.5 hours instead of 11.5, and New-York in 1.5 hours instead of 8! The prototype is expected to fly by 2020, and the first passengers might enjoy stratospheric flights around 2050.

Watch the video:

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AIRBUS VISIONARY PROJECT – TRANSPARENT AIRLINER

Airbus has just unveiled a revolutionary concept through images of a transparent airliner design.

This aircraft of the future will use the latest technology – bionic structure; blended airframe; enhanced laminar flow and noise reduction; blended V-tail; biomorphing seats; leading-edge relaxation systems; human body thermal recycling; dramatic panoramic view; round of golf; etc.

Airbus will showcase their project called Concept Cabin during the Paris Air Show, at Le Bourget Airport. A movie – Airbus Future of Flight – will also be shown in a 360° planetarium at the Musee de l’Air et de l’Espace from 20 to 26 June 2011. Watch what travelling by plane could be… 40 years ahead:

Special thanks to Thierry HERMAS – Aeronautical English teacher at the French Air Force Academy (EOAA, Salon de Provence) – who passed the video link on. Thank you very much indeed.

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JSF F-35 Lightning II at Paris Airshow 2011

The U.S. F-35Cs – 5th-generation-fighter a/c – showed below are CATOBAR fighter jets. CATOBAR stands for Catapult Assisted Take Off But Arrested Recovery. It means that this variant of the F-35 JSF – Joint Strike Fighter aka Lightning II – is designed to be launched from a CV (Carrier Vessel aka aircraft carrier), and it is designed to land thanks to arrestor (or arresting) wires and hooks – Video:

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RAFALE and MiG-35 fighter aircraft to take part in Aero India 2011

The Aero India airshow expects to display the 6 MRCA contenders – the French Rafale; the Russian MiG-35; the U.S. F-16 & F-18; the Swedish JAS 39; and the European Typhoon which all compete for a big tender to propose the Indian Air Force a new multirole fighterjet.

The show will take place near Bangalore at the Yelahanka air force station from February 9th.

Enjoy this video shot during the Paris Airshow 2009:

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