A plane that goes faster than Concorde

by Lisa Cardy

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CONCORDE may still be grounded after its fatal crash last summer, but already plans for an even faster jet are in the pipeline.

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The second-generation supersonic jet will travel at 1,500 mph, 150 mph faster than Concorde, and carry 250 passengers, more than twice the capacity of Concorde.

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Travelling to New York on the new jet will take you less than three hours. And, because of its increased range, for the first time you'll be able to fly at the speed of sound from the UK to the west coast of the USA, reaching Los Angeles in under�five hours.

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Airbus's European Aeronautic Defence and Space subsidiary, EADS, based in France, has dreamt up the jet. The working name for the multi-billion pound project is the European Supersonic Research Programme, ESRP.

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The team of research engineers drawing up the plans�is initially working on minimising the high noise levels and fuel consumption typical of Concorde by making it as light and aerodynamic as possible. The plane will have four engines, the same as Concorde but its mixture of metal and non-metallic parts make it lighter. A working version is unlikely before 2015 at the earliest.

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As well as being more environmentally friendly the team�is also hoping that the cost of flying on the jet will be bank balance friendly too, with the price of a ticket not much more than for a subsonic plane.