Supersonic aircraft
Encyclopedia
Speed of sound
The speed of sound is the distance travelled during a unit of time by a sound wave propagating through an elastic medium. In dry air at , the speed of sound is . This is , or about one kilometer in three seconds or approximately one mile in five seconds....
in at least some of its normal flight configurations.
Overview
The great majority of supersonicSupersonic
Supersonic speed is a rate of travel of an object that exceeds the speed of sound . For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C this speed is approximately 343 m/s, 1,125 ft/s, 768 mph or 1,235 km/h. Speeds greater than five times the speed of sound are often...
aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
today are military or experimental aircraft. Most of them, including many military fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
, are designed to exceed the speed of sound only in certain exceptional flight regimes; a handful of aircraft, such as the SR-71 Blackbird
SR-71 Blackbird
The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft. It was developed as a black project from the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft in the 1960s by the Lockheed Skunk Works. Clarence "Kelly" Johnson was responsible for many of the...
military reconnaissance aircraft and the Concorde
Concorde
Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
supersonic civilian transport, are designed to cruise continuously at speeds above the speed of sound.-
Supersonic flight brings with it substantial technical challenges, as the aerodynamics of supersonic flight are dramatically different from those of subsonic flight (i.e., flight at speeds slower than that of sound). These challenges have largely been met. However, political, environmental, and economic obstacles of greater magnitude continue to severely limit the actual deployment of supersonic aircraft, particularly in the civilian world. Additionally, the need and demand for supersonic flight have often been insufficient to justify development or deployment of supersonic aircraft, particularly in the domain of civilian transport. The aforementioned SR-71 and Concorde aircraft are no longer flying today although Concorde was highly profitable in service, but because of the low market among operators (due to sonic boom
Sonic boom
A sonic boom is the sound associated with the shock waves created by an object traveling through the air faster than the speed of sound. Sonic booms generate enormous amounts of sound energy, sounding much like an explosion...
s, relatively high fuel consumption and poor range) in turn making it unprofitable for manufacturers to produce these kinds of aircraft.
Supersonic aircraft usually use low bypass turbofans as they give good efficiency below the speed of sound as well as above, or if extended supercruise
Supercruise
Supercruise is sustained supersonic flight of an aircraft with a useful cargo, passenger, or weapons load performed efficiently and without the use of afterburners ....
is needed turbojet engines are desirable as they give less nacelle drag
Parasitic drag
Parasitic drag is drag caused by moving a solid object through a fluid medium . Parasitic drag is made up of many components, the most prominent being form drag...
at supersonic speeds.
Supersonic transport
A supersonic transport (SST) is a civil aircraftAircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
designed to transport passengers at speeds greater than the speed of sound
Speed of sound
The speed of sound is the distance travelled during a unit of time by a sound wave propagating through an elastic medium. In dry air at , the speed of sound is . This is , or about one kilometer in three seconds or approximately one mile in five seconds....
. The only SST to see regular international service was Concorde
Concorde
Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
, and the only other design built in quantity was the Tupolev Tu-144
Tupolev Tu-144
The Tupolev Tu-144 was a Soviet supersonic transport aircraft and remains one of only two SSTs to enter commercial service, the other being the Concorde...
. The last passenger flight of the Tu-144 was in June 1978
1978 in aviation
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1978:-January:* January 1 – British Aircraft Corporation, Hawker Siddeley, and Scottish Aviation are absorbed into British Aerospace...
, and Concorde's last flight was on November 26, 2003. Following the permanent cessation of flying by all Concorde, there are no SSTs in commercial service.
Supersonic business jet
A supersonic business jet (SSBJ) would be a small business jetBusiness jet
Business jet, private jet or, colloquially, bizjet is a term describing a jet aircraft, usually of smaller size, designed for transporting groups of up to 19 business people or wealthy individuals...
, intended to travel at speeds above Mach 1.0
Mach number
Mach number is the speed of an object moving through air, or any other fluid substance, divided by the speed of sound as it is in that substance for its particular physical conditions, including those of temperature and pressure...
. Typically intended to transport about ten passengers, SSBJs are about the same size as traditional subsonic business jets. Larger commercial supersonic transport
Supersonic transport
A supersonic transport is a civilian supersonic aircraft designed to transport passengers at speeds greater than the speed of sound. The only SSTs to see regular service to date have been Concorde and the Tupolev Tu-144. The last passenger flight of the Tu-144 was in June 1978 with its last ever...
s such as the Aérospatiale/British Aerospace Concorde
Concorde
Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
and Tupolev Tu-144 'Charger'
Tupolev Tu-144
The Tupolev Tu-144 was a Soviet supersonic transport aircraft and remains one of only two SSTs to enter commercial service, the other being the Concorde...
had relatively high costs, and high noise, low range and some environmental concerns (although these problems were less evident in Concorde than the Tu-144).
Supersonic military aircraft
Many fighter aircraftFighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
and some bombers today are capable of supersonic speeds.
See also
- SupersonicSupersonicSupersonic speed is a rate of travel of an object that exceeds the speed of sound . For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C this speed is approximately 343 m/s, 1,125 ft/s, 768 mph or 1,235 km/h. Speeds greater than five times the speed of sound are often...
, Sound barrierSound barrierThe sound barrier, in aerodynamics, is the point at which an aircraft moves from transonic to supersonic speed. The term, which occasionally has other meanings, came into use during World War II, when a number of aircraft started to encounter the effects of compressibility, a collection of several... - Supersonic transportSupersonic transportA supersonic transport is a civilian supersonic aircraft designed to transport passengers at speeds greater than the speed of sound. The only SSTs to see regular service to date have been Concorde and the Tupolev Tu-144. The last passenger flight of the Tu-144 was in June 1978 with its last ever...
- Concorde SST, mach 2
- SR-71 BlackbirdSR-71 BlackbirdThe Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft. It was developed as a black project from the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft in the 1960s by the Lockheed Skunk Works. Clarence "Kelly" Johnson was responsible for many of the...
, mach 3+ - XB-70, mach 3+ bomber prototype
- A2Reaction Engines A2|-See also:-External links:* *...
, paper design for mach 5+ craft