Are there any variations or notable sensations when you break the sound barrier in a plane?
In: 49
When you cross the supersonic barrier, aerodynamics change significantly, the way the air passes over the aircraft and how they interact is much different than below supersonic speeds.
[This video](https://youtu.be/M5UEZMa_p9A) is not about supersonic flight specifically but dives in a lot of the core issues involved with supersonic flight. Vortices can form that are strong enough to move control surfaces as well as generate turbulence strong enough to brak an aircraft apart, if it’s not designed for supersonic flight. However in the cockpit of a supersonic aircraft there’s no noticeable difference in the cockpit. The Sonic boom someone on the ground hears trails behind the aircraft so to the pilot it’s more or less the same.
When you cross the supersonic barrier, aerodynamics change significantly, the way the air passes over the aircraft and how they interact is much different than below supersonic speeds.
[This video](https://youtu.be/M5UEZMa_p9A) is not about supersonic flight specifically but dives in a lot of the core issues involved with supersonic flight. Vortices can form that are strong enough to move control surfaces as well as generate turbulence strong enough to brak an aircraft apart, if it’s not designed for supersonic flight. However in the cockpit of a supersonic aircraft there’s no noticeable difference in the cockpit. The Sonic boom someone on the ground hears trails behind the aircraft so to the pilot it’s more or less the same.
I don’t know about what it feels like on the inside, but the drag the plane experiences does change. Drag is usually proportional to velocity at low speeds, proportional to velocity^2 at high speeds, becomes exponential near the sound barrier, and then drops off after you’ve broken it.
It also becomes much harder to dissipate heat when you’ve broken the sound barrier because you actually have less of your surface area contacting the air and you actually create a small vacuum bubble behind you
I don’t know about what it feels like on the inside, but the drag the plane experiences does change. Drag is usually proportional to velocity at low speeds, proportional to velocity^2 at high speeds, becomes exponential near the sound barrier, and then drops off after you’ve broken it.
It also becomes much harder to dissipate heat when you’ve broken the sound barrier because you actually have less of your surface area contacting the air and you actually create a small vacuum bubble behind you
Latest Answers