Sonic booms – Concorde exempt?
Discussion
I was watching the Discovery Channel last night which covered Boeing’s attempt to make a bigger, fatter, faster version. One key issue was the sonic boom which, as tested on unsuspecting residents in Omaha by the military :Hehe:, seriously pissed them off.
I couldn’t figure out why the US plane could cause a sonic boom near/affecting residents of cities/town. Surely it’d be way up in the sky? Also, if it did for whatever reason, why didn’t Concorde do the same?
I couldn’t figure out why the US plane could cause a sonic boom near/affecting residents of cities/town. Surely it’d be way up in the sky? Also, if it did for whatever reason, why didn’t Concorde do the same?
SWH said:
Grew up in the middle of Devon and used to hear Concorde every evening going supersonic over the Bristol Channel - made the front room windows rattle and the massive flat barn roof shake a tiny bit - Boom, b-b-boom is probably the best description, great stuff 
I'd love this, would be excellent 
I remember reading somewhere it'd fly normally out from London until Bristol, then open the engines up.
SWH said:
Grew up in the middle of Devon and used to hear Concorde every evening going supersonic over the Bristol Channel - made the front room windows rattle and the massive flat barn roof shake a tiny bit - Boom, b-b-boom is probably the best description, great stuff
I grew up in North Cornwall and used to see the con-trails and hear the Boom, B-B-Boom every evening at around 6pm.Thanks for the nostalgia trip!!
Nowadays we get it almost every day as I work on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi, near the Airforce base where they have loads of fast-jets playing over the 'Empty Quarter'. Some days it sounds like constant thunder...
Did the program mention what type of aircraft was used for the tests? I'd take a guess that it was the XB-70. The XB-70 pilots didn't like the boom tests as they had to fly at very low weights to accurately simulate any future SST which left them very little fuel in case of emergencies.
The USAF are very careful about where they fly supersonic anyway, dams and Native American burial grounds being the two I can remember but there are other no boom zones too.
The USAF are very careful about where they fly supersonic anyway, dams and Native American burial grounds being the two I can remember but there are other no boom zones too.
Frimley111R said:
I couldn’t figure out why the US plane could cause a sonic boom near/affecting residents of cities/town. Surely it’d be way up in the sky? Also, if it did for whatever reason, why didn’t Concorde do the same?
The physical effect of the boom is over-pressure. How much over-pressure is generated depends on the mass of the object not just the speed. Therefore the Boeing plan for a bigger and significantly heavier aircraft resulted in projected over-pressure figures that would have been near an order of magnitude greater than Concorde. Tango13 said:
Did the program mention what type of aircraft was used for the tests? I'd take a guess that it was the XB-70. The XB-70 pilots didn't like the boom tests as they had to fly at very low weights to accurately simulate any future SST which left them very little fuel in case of emergencies.
The USAF are very careful about where they fly supersonic anyway, dams and Native American burial grounds being the two I can remember but there are other no boom zones too.
It didn't but it did say that flying jets over a city just to see what would happen and without telling anyone would never be allowed today!! Apparently 7000 people complained and 5000 sued! The USAF are very careful about where they fly supersonic anyway, dams and Native American burial grounds being the two I can remember but there are other no boom zones too.
According to wiki F104, B58, F101 and the odd F106 was used in the Oklahoma city tests http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_sonic...
I once flew to Washington DC on the Concorde and it was a totally unique experience.
Hearing the BOOM, feeling the thud in the middle of your back and watching the Mach meter at the front of the cabin was incredible.
What I remember most vividly though, was the view out of the window.
The sky was almost black and the curveture of the earth was huge, both due to the altitude. The in flight wallet that you were given, had what was then, extraordinary luxury inside. A note pad, a pencil, a deck of playing cards, a fact sheet, a fold up tooth brush and tooth paste and finally, some eye shades.
Why, on Gods earth you would need to sleep on a 3 and a half hour flight, aboard the Concorde, I could never fathom.
The most memorable fact from the Fact Sheet, was that if flew 23 miles a minute at full thrust!!
Another enduring memory that I have, was of the degree of side flex in the fuselage. In flight, it almost snaked along.
This all made a huge impression on me and I'm a little surprised at how much I can recall from 1976, when I was a kid of 10!
Hearing the BOOM, feeling the thud in the middle of your back and watching the Mach meter at the front of the cabin was incredible.
What I remember most vividly though, was the view out of the window.
The sky was almost black and the curveture of the earth was huge, both due to the altitude. The in flight wallet that you were given, had what was then, extraordinary luxury inside. A note pad, a pencil, a deck of playing cards, a fact sheet, a fold up tooth brush and tooth paste and finally, some eye shades.
Why, on Gods earth you would need to sleep on a 3 and a half hour flight, aboard the Concorde, I could never fathom.
The most memorable fact from the Fact Sheet, was that if flew 23 miles a minute at full thrust!!
Another enduring memory that I have, was of the degree of side flex in the fuselage. In flight, it almost snaked along.
This all made a huge impression on me and I'm a little surprised at how much I can recall from 1976, when I was a kid of 10!
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