Scramjet a future aircraft power plant?

( A scramjet power rocket testing in Australian Outback in 2006)

A future looks bright when a successful scramjet tests conducted in the Australian Outback that saw a rocket exceed Mach 10 speeds of 11,000 kmh (6,800 mph) pose a potential revolution in air travel, making theoretically possible to connect anywhere in the world within three to four hours.

While this achievement is breathtaking in its commercial potential, the reality is that such capabilities are very unlikely to find their way to your nearest airport anytime soon.

More extensive tests need to be conducted before the engines and the airframes can be safety certified, since the technology offers tantalizing hypothetical speeds of up to Mach 24! But once the basics have been achieved with the prototypes, there is still another complicated process in the next stage of ensuring average passenger comfort.

In short, we're at the very least two decades away before the first commercial scramjet flight is ready to accept bookings. And chances are that when we actually reach this horizon, these flights will most likely be far from the envisioned fantasy.

Like the supersonic Concorde, which has been retired in 2003 after almost three decades of lording the skies, the commercial scramjet is very likely to run smack into overland flight restrictions with stringent controls on noise levels and now, possibly even carbon dioxide and other fuel-related emissions.

Take-offs and landings would probably need to be within existing speed limits to minimize noise
pollution; sonic booms resulting from speed transitions would be restricted to non-residential zones-most likely over barren seas, assuming there won't be further restrictions related to the protection of possibly dwindling aquatic creatures.

As a result, scramjets are a promise of faster travel speeds which still faces an uncertain future

Another Source Of Power For Aircraft Engine, A Reality?

(We still rely on this engine which gulping a fossil fuel)

Since the ever-increasing rate of air travel, there is clearly a need for more planes. Better if they're faster, pack more people, cheaper to run and economical to maintain.

New concerns on global warming warming intensifying so soon after sharp hikes in oil prices, coupled with shortages of available aircraft and congested airports, the issue of travel has never been so high in most people's minds.

Travel today is a basic necessity, be it on land, air or sea. It's has come under fire for the rapid consumption of fossil fuels and increasing pollution effects on global warming.

The main problem with air travel is that there are very few alternatives available, unlike eco-friendly options of bicycles and electric trains for land transport and wind-powered sailing maritime vessels.

Hence, all new aircraft like A380 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner are all being watched very closely for fuel emissions and the size of their carbon footprints.

Aviation carbon emissions calculated on the basis of per kilometer traveled are very closed to that produced by cars transporting single passengers. Since there are for more cars running compared to airplanes (plus manufacturing industries pollution), overall contribution by aircraft around the world currently make up only three percent of overall carbon emissions.

Research into more eco-friendly aviation technology is progressing rapidly, foremost with better engines and fuels. To conserve on fossil fuels, there is already much focus on bio-fuels that is very far from living up to its promise. Bio-fuels still don't fully address the issue of carbon emissions and there is simply no available alternative to the existing aviation fuels that packs enough power needed to send multi-tonnes aircraft aloft.

If better high-powered sources still can't be obtained then we may stuck with the kerosene-burning physics. Or is there another way forward?

The magic promise of clean electricity has been around for awhile, as has the lure of limitless solar energy supplies. Reality check has shown that such concept still remain far from a practical solution.

Get Off that F-16! we'll send the Drone instead..

Radio Control toys, whats once supposed to be a toys for all, in fact thats no wonder country like Sri Lanka ban on this toys because it can be apply for another unthinkable purpose by layman. Its no secret anymore thats what the military around the world up to, they secretly apply Radio Control technology as a strategic airborne device.

The military's reliance on unmanned aircraft that can watch, hunt and sometimes kill insurgents has soared to more than 500,000 hours in the air, largely in Iraq. The jump in Iraq coincided with the build up of U.S. forces this summer as the military swelled its ranks to quell the violence in Baghdad. But Pentagon officials said that even as troops begin to slowly come home this year, the use of Predators, Global Hawks, Shadows and Ravens will not likely slow.

The increased military operations all across Iraq last summer triggered greater use of the drones and an escalating call for more of the systems — from the Pentagon's key hunter-killer, the Predator, to the surveillance Global Hawks and the smaller, cheaper Ravens.

In one recent example of what they can do, a Predator caught sight of three militants firing mortars at U.S. forces in November in Balad, Iraq. The drone fired an air-to-ground missile, killing the three, according to video footage the Air Force released.

The bulk of the unmanned flight hours belong to the Army's workhorse drone, the Raven, which weighs just four pounds and is used by smaller units, such as companies and battalions, in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Army has a total of 361 unmanned aircraft in Iraq alone — including Shadows, Hunters and Ravens. And in the first 10 months of 2007, they flew more than 300,000 hours.

According to a new Pentagon report, the Defense Department plans to develop an "increasingly sophisticated force of unmanned systems" over the next 25 years. The effort will confront some current shortfalls, including plans to improve how well the drones can quickly and precisely identify and locate targets.

That would also involve increasing the precision of the guided weapons that are on some of the unmanned aircraft. Those efforts are considered critical because it enables the military to hunt down and kill militants without putting troops at risk.

In addition, the Pentagon said it wants to improve the drones' reconnaissance and surveillance abilities, which are the top priorities of commanders in the field.