Photo copyright: Eurofighter-Geoffrey Lee

I had the pleasure of speaking to Airbus Defence test pilot Chris Worning about Typhoon’s performance.

Have you encountered any aircraft that out-climb Typhoon?

The Raptor might be able to, but that’s it, it’s the same story with acceleration. It is a true supersonic aeroplane. Even with tanks on.

The speed quoting for Typhoon’s maximum supercruise varies in press releases, what figure would you put on it?

It’s around 1, 1.2 (Mach), you can figure it out yourself because the supersonic drag peaks at up around Mach 1 or 1.05, and then it comes down, and the other side of this is where we normally settle down.

And how long can it cruise at Mach 1.2?

It mostly depends on the atmosphere. On a standard day you sit down at M1.15 or M1.2- but if it’s really cold up high you get more out of it that day. Aeroplanes are quite susceptible to temperatures. You can sit there till you run out of gas, and because you’re in dry power you don’t use a lot of gas. I’ve never had enough space to travel that far in one direction, but you certainly sit there for 15 or 20 minutes.