The I Plane, the incredible plane capable of reaching seven times the speed of sound

Chinese researchers have developed an incredible aircraft capable of reaching the unprecedented speed of Mach 7, nearly 9,000 km / h. I Plane could thus connect Beijing and New York in just two hours, a journey that now requires fifteen, aboard a conventional airliner. But the prospect of hypersonic travel is not the only one, such technology could also be implemented for military purposes.

Two hours, watch in hand. This is the time that could soon take the trip Beijing - New York, a journey of nearly 11,000 kilometers that currently requires at least 14 hours of flight aboard a traditional airliner.

Such a feat is promised by the recent development of an extraordinary airplane, developed by a team of Chinese scientists. "I Plane", its name, has just been featured in a publication published in the journal Science China Physics, Mechanics & Astronomy. It owes its capital "I" to its particular form, which is reminiscent of the letter of the alphabet written in capital.

This very specific physiognomy is not a whim of a designer. It is essential to allow the I Plane to reach the incredible speed of Mach 7, nothing less than 9,000 kilometers per hour. At this pace indeed, almost 7 times higher than that of the sound, the hypersonic "bang" could considerably shake the device. But its novel design allows it to avoid this pitfall.

Shockproof design

I Plane consists of an arrow-shaped front wing, itself surmounted by a pair of contiguous, triangular wings, mounted vertically to the rear fuselage, like a sort of huge T-shaped tail. Such a configuration allows to redirect the shock wave when crossing the sound barrier, and thus avoids turbulence that undermine the performance of the aircraft and its stability.

For now, I Plane has not left the floor of the cows yet. His first test "flights" were carried out in the wind tunnel, well sheltered in a giant tunnel, in which he was subjected winds of a speed between Mach 5 and Mach 7, about 6,000 to 9,000 km / h. Such puffs could have made him fear that his structure would break up under the pressure of the air, but his revolutionary design proved its effectiveness.

This success gives hope that I Plane will soon take flight, for real this time, and one day carries passengers at incredible speeds. This perspective is indeed far from being utopian, since unlike other prototypes, limited to a single-seater cockpit, I Plane, meanwhile, could carry about fifty passengers, or about 5 tons of freight, according to its designers . Capabilities that are about 25% of those of a Boeing 737.

Probable military applications

But leisure travel is unfortunately not the only option offered by such hypersonic flight technology. Less peaceful intentions could also be realized thanks to the exceptional performances of the I Plane. The plane could indeed also be used to carry bombs. "It could be something like a heavy hypersonic bomber," warns a Chinese researcher who wishes to remain anonymous, in an interview given to the Chinese daily South China Morning Post.

China seems to be launching itself in the race for hypersonic technology, as evidenced by another project developed by the Middle Kingdom and evoked by Popular Science: that of a wind tunnel capable of producing winds reaching Mach 36, more than 44,000 km / h! At such a speed, there is a risk of getting out of the way of the hypersonic tunnel ... Its commissioning is planned for 2020.

If all goes as planned, the Chinese hypersonic wind tunnel would far exceed the performance of its American equivalent, LENX-X, which produces a "only" breath of 37,000 km / h, 30 times "only" the speed of sound . If it materializes, I Plane meanwhile, could pulverize the record so far established by the fastest aircraft able to take off and land alone: ?? the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird which reaches a speed of Mach 3.

Still in the testing phase, these different international projects could well contribute to the development of the aircraft of the future, at least if they are not used for bellicose purposes ... Missiles or aircraft, the future will tell, but always is the sky could soon be crossed by incredible hypersonic birds.