Aviation Stack Exchange
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Questions tagged [supersonic]

Use for questions relating to flight at speeds greater than sound and related effects from doing so.

When the question is pertinent to flight at velocities exceeding the velocity of sound, apply this tag. A slightly more detailed introduction on supersonic flight may be perused on wikipedia

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Do jets breaking the sound barrier leave shredded metal on the ground?

As a kid (1960s and 1970s) we would find shredded metal rolled into a loose ball similar to the shredded paper one might find in an Easter basket, in the hills surrounding our farm. We had the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) based about 60 miles…
Ana Yost
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Could anyone (non-military) in the present day "exceed mach 1 over a regulated area"?

There is a question What would happen if I exceeded mach 1 over a regulated area? I wonder, could anyone in civil aviation (not military) actually carry out this violation? I know there are privately owned "warbirds", but it looks like the majority…
h22
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Do bigger aircraft make a bigger sonic boom?

I was watching an episode of MythBusters where they were trying to break glass windows and cups using a sonic boom generated by a F/A-18 Hornet, flown by the Blue Angels. In summary, they were unsuccessful at creating a boom that could shatter the…
Jae Carr
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Would a perfectly silent supersonic aircraft create a sonic boom?

Assume that you have an aircraft that is so amazingly stealthy that it is perfectly quiet: no engine noise at all, nothing. And, it's going supersonic. (Maybe in a steep dive with the motor shut off.) Will it make a sonic boom? Would the sonic…
Ralph J
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What is the simplest way to explain a sonic boom that is still technically correct?

I'm looking for an explanation that preserves technical accuracy while remaining brief. Bonus points for including the double boom. Try to avoid discussing laminar flow and such.
Bassinator
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How come sonic booms only occur once at the speed of sound and not multiple times?

Fighter aircraft today are capable of flying several times the speed of sound. Why is it that the sonic boom only occurs at the moment the plane crosses Mach 1?
Madhav Sudarshan
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What will happen to wing Vortices on supersonic aircraft?

Having looked at the new Aerion AS2 design I wondered whether anyone could tell me what happens to wingtip vortices at a cruise of Mach 1.4 with the strange wing shape of the AS2 design? I know that induced drag (very closely associated with wingtip…
user44229
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Why do super sonic fighter jets have narrow waist?

Some of the supersonic fighter jets (such as F-4 Phantom and F-5) have narrow waist on their fuselage. Why do these fighter jets have narrow waist?
albin
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What would happen if the wing of a supersonic plane goes into the shock wave from the nose?

What happens if the wing of a supersonic plane goes into the shock wave from the nose? A plane have this shock wave at the nose going back at an angle, but it also have shock waves going back (in the same angle) from the intake or the joint between…
Easer
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When will I hear the sonic boom from a plane flying towards me?

When does a person first hear a plane, flying faster than the speed of sound, as it flies directly overhead? Yes, I know there is a sonic boom and I also know the plane will produce sound as it flies away from that person. But what about the sound…
Hans van Berkel
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Boundary Layer Ingestion - Would it also work at supersonic speeds?

I have searched the forum and the internet but can't find the answer to my question. Would the 10% increase in fuel efficiency from BLI function at supersonic speeds? The 10% increase is the number I read from Bauhaus Luftfahrt and their explanation…
Paranoidone
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What would need to change for supersonic airliners to be the norm?

I know that supersonic airliners have never been widespread, by reason of cost, engine technology, aerodynamics. Yet can these difficulties be overcome within the next 20 years? I know of Concorde's retirement and ongoing attempts at Supersonic…
user128