You'll Soon Be Able Fly At 7,400Km/h — Find Out How

10. The Eye In The Sky - Aeroscraft Dirigible Airship

Intended to be a flying surveillance post, the Aeroscraft Dirigible Airship weighs in at 400 tons, and is just over an acre in total size.

It stays in the air thanks to a combination of helium and downward facing jet engines which also allow it land almost anywhere it wants, as it actually floats slightly above the ground.

This also makes it perfect to carry cargo loads to places where access is extremely difficult.

9. Lockheed Martin SkyTug Hybrid Airship

This mad airship is quite similar to the Aeroscraft Dirigible with its downward facing jets.

However this airship adds a rear propeller and its aerodynamic shape ensures that it always provides extra lift while moving forward, much like the wings of a plane.

8. The Future Is Transparent - Airbus Plane 2050

Expected to come by 2050, this is one plane can that be the ultimate thrill ride for some people or the worst nightmare for others.

The outer skin of the top of the aircraft is transparent allowing those inside to view the sky as they fly through it.

While that might seem great to you, you wouldn't want to be in this plane if it went through turbulence or was hit by lightning as it could really scare you half to death.

7. Icon A5 - The Foldable Amphibious Plane

Let's get back to some fun airplanes shall we.

The Icon A5 is an Amphibious Light Sport Aircraft which means that you can take off and land in almost any situation, be it land or water.

The A5 is powered by a 1,211cc Rotas 912 aircraft engine that produces just 100bhp. However due to the lightweight nature of the plane (Maximum takeoff weight is 686.4 kilogram), it can fly about at max speed of 176km/h. The A5 runs on normal 91-octane fuel.

Once you touch down, you can fold the wings of the Icon A5 and put it on a trailer and take it home.

The Icon A5 is priced at $139,000 (Rs. 92.35 lakhs).

6. Boeing DiscRotor - Mad Or Brilliant?

Is it a plane or is it a helicopter? Well this madcap Disc Rotor from Boeing can't seem to make up its mind. It features a helicopter like rotor on which is used for takeoff and landing.

Once in the air, the two jet engines come to life and the rotor shuts down and slides into the disc on top. The disc then acts as a wing.

5. QUEIA 2058 Concept Craft - The Ultimate College Project

Designed by students from the university of Miami for a the 2008 NASA Aeronautics Contest. QUEIA stands for ‘Quiet Ultra-Efficient Integrated Aircraft' proposes what a plane from 2058 should look like.

The futuristic is the ultimate flying wing plane with no tail wings, embedded engines and winglets at the edges.

While the design may never make into production, it did help one of the students to get an internship with NASA.

4. MagLev Air Urban Transport - A Slingshot Of A Jet

What happens when you combine magnetic levitation and scramjet engine.

Well in the case of the three man team of Georg Milde, Denis Ors, and Leonie Lawniczak who designed this crazy thing, it is the high speed shuttle system between airports.

The maglev system will launch the jet into the air at rather high speeds where the scramjet engines will blast into life and help transport occupants to their destination in the matter of a few minutes to their connecting airport.

3. Call The History Channel Guy, Aliens Have Arrived

The Green-Airways Flying Saucer is the brainchild of Etnel Straatsma, who works at the Delft University of Technology and wants to reduce the carbon emissions of air travel.

So if you do see one of these flying saucers in the future, don't panic and call the bearded History Channel guy, as it could just be your eco-warrior neighbour flying off to the next Greenpeace.

The saucer apparently will halve the carbon emissions of current day planes.

2. Skylon Surface-To-Orbit Plane - Take Off And Go To Space

he Space Shuttle took off like a rocket, went into space and returned and landed like a plane.

The Skylon will change all that as it can take off like a plane, go into orbit and then return and land like a plane as well.

It uses a single multi-purpose engine that pulls in oxygen from the atmosphere to help burn its fuel but switches to an internal supply when it enters the airless emptiness of space.

The privately funded Skylon is just about ready to be manufactured and we can't wait for it show up as it could greatly reduce the cost of going to space.

1. Lockheed Martin SR-72 - It Goes How Fast?

Called the 'Son Of The Blackbird', the SR-72 is the successor to the feared SR-71 Blackbird, the fastest airplane of all time and one of the most feared planes of the Cold War, despite the fact it never carried weapons.

The fastest a SR-71 Blackbird ever went was Mach 3.4 (4,198km/h).

The new SR-72 though plans to go even further and hit Mach 6 (7,402km/h) which means that it cover the distance between Delhi and New York in an amazing 1 hour and 35 minutes.

The speed is achieved through the help of two jet engines. The first is a turbine that takes it up to Mach 3 (3,704km/h) which is when the scramjet takes over and blasts it to Mach 6.

The SR-72 is based on the Lockheed Martin Falcon HTV-2 which recorded the fastest ever speed recorded by a vehicle powered by jet engine at Mach 22 (27,165 km/h).