When the Boeing X-51A WaveRider begins its flight testing (provisionally scheduled for this October), it will mark several firsts in aviation- the first attempt to fly a fuel-cooled scramjet, the first attempt to fly an aerodynamically unstable, control-augmented hypersonic vehicle, and the first liquid-hydrocarbon fueled scramjet to fly (the engine a design from Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne).
The WaveRider will demonstrate sustained flight at Mach 6.5 using JP-7 fuel instead of cryogenic fuels.
Source: Aviation Week and Space Technology, March 30, 2009. "Scramjet Reality" by Guy Norris, p32.
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