Paradoxal commercial supersonic/hypersonic passenger aircraft concept, is capable of flying on a sub-orbital parabolic trajectory.
The Paradoxal concept would be able to fly from Los Angeles to Sydney in less than 3 hours (7,585 miles), by making a suborbital parabolic incursion into space.
It uses a Rotary Ramjet engine as the air-breathing engine and then converts to a rocket to reach a suborbital altitude. A line of counterflowing jets of air on the aircraft’s leading edges reduces heat and drag during the ascent and re-entry phases of the flight.
The Paradoxal would to take off directly from any airfield using two Rim-Rotor Rotary Ramjet Engines (R4E). These turbines produce significant thrust in a single-stage by spinning ramjet thrusters at supersonic speeds (tip speeds up to Mach 3) held together by a carbon-fiber rim-rotor.
The R4E engines have a high power-to-weight ratio and could be manufactured at relatively low production costs (similar to today’s automotive turbochargers). Efficiencies are similar to piston engines and low pressure ratio gas turbines (20-30%).
The air-breathing engines would provide enough power to lift off, climb to 60,000 feet, and reach Mach 3. At this point, the engine would turn into a rocket engine by injecting liquid oxygen (LOX) into the gas exhaust port that would continue pushing the Paradoxal at supersonic speeds up to an altitude of 40 miles, setting it on a parabolic sub-orbital trajectory towards its distant destination.
In mid-flight, you would see earth’s curvature and the plane’s multiple onboard cameras would grant you access to video feed of the view along with the best pictures. You would even get to experience weightlessness for one brief minute before heading back towards earth.
source Paradoxal
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