- Engines found in a Lotus Evija are being tested in aircraft engines
- A hybrid-electric architecture can imitate a turbofan
- Both military and civilian applications are being considered.
We could soon see a return to three-hour flight times between London and New York, as Helix Motors, a UK engineering company that supplies powerful electric motors to Lotus and the fan-powered McMurtry Spéirling hypercar, has teamed up with supersonic air travel specialist Astro Mechanica.
The partnership is working on a new generation of supersonic engines that could be used by the military, long-range cargo carriers, orbital launches and, perhaps most interestingly, applications in passenger aircraft.
To get really nerdy for a moment, Helix supplies four high-performance electric motors that can generate over 1,200 HP each. They also weigh only 31.3 kg.
These ultra-lightweight but tremendously powerful engines are used in a “dual propulsion” system, which has been designed to address fuel efficiency issues head-on. The fuel costs and CO2 emissions associated with supersonic flight currently do not add up.
Astro Mechanica says the electric motors are used to “separate the propulsion unit from the turboshaft core.” In turn, the turbogenerator uses a gas turbine to “generate electricity through two motors, which power the four Helix motors in the thrusters that control the fan and compressor.”
Understand that. But in its most basic form, the hybrid system can mimic a turbofan at subsonic speeds, a turbojet at lower supersonic speeds, and transition to a ramjet at very high supersonic speeds.
The idea is that the hybrid engine system will be efficient from takeoff to Mach 3+. A bit like how powerful motors in modern hypercars are used to fill gaps in the torque curve or to cruise around town solely on battery power to save fuel.
Vacation out of this world
According to Astro Mechanica, it is currently testing a fourth generation of its Duality engine prototype and aims to make its first flight within three years.
That said, it is already working with Helix to offer custom engines for its fifth-generation engine that will weigh considerably less than current prototypes and are designed to operate at extreme altitudes; think suborbital things.
As a result, Astro Mechanica says that within a decade it plans to make on-demand supersonic passenger travel as accessible and affordable as commercial air travel is today. Those are some big promises that we hope don’t evaporate when they hit the harsh cold air of reality.
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