will fly at 4.5 times the speed of sound (Mach 1). The original, built in the 1970s, could only reach Mach 2. The aircraft, which will keep a Concorde style large delta wing, will be driven by two conventional jets attached to the fuselage, two rockets on the tail and two ramjets propelled by a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen under the wings. The aircraft will be exclusively for super VIPs. The original Concorde, an Anglo-French project retired in 2003, after the accident on July 24, 2000 in which 113 people died, could carry up to 120 passengers, but the new plane will take a maximum of 20. It will be able to operate at ordinary airports by using the two normal jet engines for take off and landing. On reaching Mach 1 its jet engines will be switched off and brought into the fuselage. At the same time the rocket engines will fire, which will drive the aircraft up at an almost vertical angle. Once it reaches a cruising altitude of 35 km the aircraft will continue in level flight, with the rockets off and the ramjet switched on, and will accelerate to a maximum speed of Mach 4.5 or 5480 km/h. To ensure it remains stable during the transition from horizontal flight, the two fins at the ends of the wings will rotate from horizontal, in line with the wings, to vertical. (AGI)