I feel like this is going to be for a very specific type of flight that will be in only the most necessary cases for ultra fast travel. Otherwise the vast majority of domestic travel will be by the high speed rails.
It kinda looks like the SR-71 (except it’s not used to bomb civilians so it’s way better)
Blackbirb actually literally tried to carry weapons but it didn’t work out, instead it just looked at things - and let others kill those things.
I’m no aerospace engineer but supersonic flight, no matter how technologically advanced we become, will always remain incredibly fuel inefficient because of fundamental laws of fluid dynamics. A supersonic aircraft would likely remain a niche market, never replacing our current transonic passenger aircraft. I’m betting the tickets would be prohibitively expensive who isn’t in the top 1% or paid for by a government agency.
Apparently, there have been some ideas on how to make efficient hypersonic vehicles. The vehicle could be operating in the upper atmosphere where there’s less drag. It would basically be an inherently long haul vehicle where you’d go up do most of the trip up high, and then come back down.
The upper atmosphere would probably have less drag, but the lower speed of sound at high altitudes would exacerbate the issues of supersonic flight and require specialized, expensive aircraft. It may become more efficient, but I still see it as mostly a niche market.
Per the article the prototype was flow at around 20,000m and they’re specifically going up there for the efficiency reason. The design also has a “high lift-to-drag ratio” that is apparently helping out.
This one has some more detail, no way to confirm its veracity however. https://theasialive.com/chinas-yunxing-jet-completes-test-flight-eyes-supersonic-commercial-travel-by-2027/2024/10/29
It could all be marketing hype, but there are a couple other companies in US and UK working on similar projects.
This looks cool. Would be great if this technology will take a flight. Lockheed Martin is also developing a supersonic civil airplane, X-59 is scheduled for a test flight this year. Comparing both projects is hard given the scarce technical details, but the Chinese plane has much higher maximum speed.
Didn’t the internet essentially make the Concord obsolete? Its main purpose was flying businessmen from New York to London/Paris so they could finish major transactions before the markets closed.
Tickets were also 20,000 dollars in 1985 money, so even if China makes a plane with a modern ticket price of 10,000-15,000… who exactly is the customer base for this?
I dont think this is comparable to the concord. The concord was more like an oversized fighter jet. It had more issues with it than just cost. Like sonic booms. Just wasn’t practical. This is more like an SR-71. Much more practical as it flies much higher and theres less air so sonic booms arent an issue for people on the ground so much. In general air travel started out really expensive and got more affordable over time. The concord never did as it just failed outright. This has potential tho. Mainly for more long distance travel. Like 5-10k+ miles the time it saves is gonna be huge at those distances.
Hopefully this goes somewhere, but even with a modern price of 5,000 dollars. I’m still confused as to who this plane is meant to serve. It is outclassed by trains for regional travel, and is entirely uneconomical for long distance flights since while it can save fuel while cruising, it will chew through a massive quantity of fuel while accelerating and climbing.
Also the Blackbird sacrifices a LOT to be as light and aerodynamic as it is, as is evident by the pilot requiring an entire spacesuit. That’s not really conducive to commercial travel.
The saving is time. An suborbital flight could get you from NYC to Beijing in under an hour theoretically. Altho idk how fast this specific plane is. But ur not understanding what i mean about price starting high. Its not “modern” pricing. Its just that things like this start out as a very niche luxury market and then over decades they expand and prices come down as they get practice and refine designs, and techniques to lower costs, and economy of scale takes over. So if it suceeds as a luxury time saving product for a niche use (Like business people, politicians etc) then over time it can be expanded to everyone and prices can come down.
As for sacrifices the SR-71 made the SR-71 was a military craft made for stealth bombing. It had a lot of equipment and stuff going on a normal plane wouldnt need.
It’s all going to depend on what the ticket prices will actually be. I’m going to go out on a limb and assume the company developing these planes has done the basic math to figure out whether it would be remotely profitable or not. It’s been many decades since the Concord was conceived, and it’s entirely possible that the operating costs for the new approach are much lower.
What worries me is that those profit calculations don’t mean that Chinese firms aren’t just as susceptible as western firms to speculative investing and venture capital interests.
The role of the market in China is very different from the west. SOEs control the commanding heights of the economy. These pillars of industry, spanning banking, energy, and telecommunications, form the bedrock of the economic system, accounting for roughly a third of its GDP. While private companies and a vibrant stock market exist, they operate under a socialist framework, guided by the principles laid out by Chen Yun. Chen advocated for a “birdcage economy,” where the market acts as a bird, free to fly within the confines of a cage representing the overall economic plan.
His approach, adopted in the early 1980s, allowed for use of market forces for efficient allocation of resources, while the state maintained ultimate control over the direction and goals of economic development. The state, acting as the planner, sets the overall goals and priorities, while the market, acting as the allocator, determines the most efficient way to achieve those goals.
While Chinese stock market plays a key role in raising capital for companies to invest in productive activities, it operates under strict regulations to curb speculation and short-term profit-making, ensuring its primary function as a tool for economic development rather than a platform for unchecked wealth accumulation.
Concrete examples of these regulations include restrictions on margin trading, limits on short selling, and measures to prevent insider trading. When companies prioritize profit maximization over social value, regulators can intervene with corrective action. The recent dismantling of the Alibaba Group into six separate business units serves as a clear example of such action, taken to curb the abuse of monopolistic power among the country’s tech giants. In this way, the state is able to exercise oversight and regulation to ensure that the markets serve the broader interests of society.
Private companies, while encouraged to innovate and compete, are also expected to align their activities with broader state goals. This entails contributing to social welfare programs, investing in research and development, and adhering to environmental regulations. In essence, private enterprise in China functions within a framework that prioritizes the collective good and long-term sustainability over the unbridled pursuit of profit and short term growth.
