Luxury supersonic jet will fly from NY to London in 3 hours
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US-based aerospace company Spike has announced that it is now accepting reservations for its $100 million supersonic business jet. "Deliveries are limited and based on initial deposit date", the company states on its website.
Announcements for the reservation of an aircraft are rare, and even more so if it is supersonic. Humanity's dream run to fly over the seas at speeds faster than sound ended in 2003 when Concorde flew its last plane, and multiple startups have been working toward making that dream possible again.
Recently, companies like Aerion have gone belly up, and Boom Supersonic, which held so much promise, has faced hurdles that raised doubts if its plane will even fly. Therefore, an announcement from a contemporary company opening up reservations for its aircraft raises hopes about supersonic flight becoming common again.
Spike's S-512 supersonic aircraft
Spike Aerospace's supersonic aircraft has been dubbed S-512 and is designed to carry 12-18 passengers at a time. The aircraft mixes high-speed travel with high-end luxury, and the illustrations of the final offering clearly show that the aircraft is for the uber-rich who are in a hurry to get to their destinations.
Spike promises that the S-512 can travel at speeds 1.6 times that of sound (Mach 1.6, 1,100 miles an hour), which will help its occupants traverse the world at least 500 miles an hour faster than an existing civilian aircraft.
The company has not revealed much about the technology to make this possible. However, its FAQ page states that its windowless design for the cabin is an essential contributor to its "quiet" flights. Spike is confident its aircraft will not create sonic booms when going supersonic, allowing it to fly at these speeds even over land.
Suppose you are worried that the resultant flight would be a claustrophobic journey at supersonic speeds. In that case, Spike has ensured that the cabin walls serve as high-definition displays for in-flight entertainment. Controlled through a smart device or touchpad on every seat, these displays can cast the screen of a phone or a tablet, play on-demand content, or offer 360-degree views from the outside.
Cybertruck moment for billionaires?
Spike's page minces no words when talking about the importance of high-speed travel and puts its customers in a race to acquire the aircraft before their competitor does. By doing so, the company claims that the aircraft owner can reach destinations, meet more customers, and close deals faster than ever.
A journey from London to New York City could be no longer than four hours on an S-512, and with a 6,200 nautical mile range, a corporate client could travel from New York to Dubai non-stop.
But with these tall promises, one cannot help but wonder if the aircraft is like a Cybertruck moment for billionaires. The aircraft's design and capabilities are extremely alluring, but the underlying technology has not been unveiled, and chances are high that it might not even roll out anytime soon.
Spike Aerospace states that it is intentionally working in semi-stealth mode. Still, without a likely delivery date for the aircraft, it is hard to believe that they are close to the technology that will let us see the S-512 airborne anytime soon.
If it does, we couldn't be more excited to see it at work.
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