wired.com — A new generation of supersonic private jets could trigger a boom in luxury high-speed flight -- without the sonic boom normally associated with breaking the sound barrier. Lockheed Martin's advanced Skunk Works unit is designing a small, 12-seat passenger jet that would travel at 1,200 mph (Mach 1.8) but which would produce only a whisper.
Aug 28, 2006 View in Crawl 4
xalorousAug 28, 2006
@smackfu - sonic boom is a legal issue, the reason it was not a problem is that they only flew the thing > M when over the ocean. They only flew it over the ocean because the only flights long enough to be practical were transoceanic flights. The reason for the downfall of the Concorde is that it was extremely expensive to operate, and the fleet was aging to the point where it needed to be replaced.And if you'll notice, the jet in question will accomodate 12 passengers. Not exactly a jetliner. This is just a souped up corporate jet.
saleens281Aug 28, 2006
@all of you talking about supersonic over land mass:You can't do it because of the sonic boom it creates. This jet has no sonic boom, therefore there's absolutely no reason not to allow it to fly over land mass at supersonic speeds. Critical thinking skills help every now and again, try em ;)
immortallobsterAug 28, 2006
nobody said all his ideas were a bright idea :Pto my knowledge, there was never a flight the Concorde made that turned a profit in the end
dougmcAug 28, 2006
`a plane flying in a supersonic state gets better fuel efficiency then a plane flying in subsonic'Can you provide a citation for that?Aerodynamic drag is a complicated subject, and it becomes doubly complicated once you approach and exceed the speed of sound, but as a general rule of thumb, once you are going so fast that the induced drag is dwarfed by the total drag, doubling your speed quadruples the drag, which greatly reduces efficiency.
immortallobsterAug 28, 2006
Agreed, the wing failed at I believe 147% instead of the mandatory 150%, am I correct?what I was saying just the political jumble a cross country deal brings to the table as t is, eitherway, Airbuses current slump is its own doing
immortallobsterAug 28, 2006
No, from the description, the sonic boom wouldnt be audible unless you elect to stand right behind it, and the future is smaller aircraft, since less people are flying and securiy is getting tighter, dollars and sense it makes perfect sense ^_^
atlantisceoAug 29, 2006
If "slightly quieter" is 1% the volume of the original, sure. If I were 1% my height I wouldn't be slightly shorter.
wistarAug 29, 2006
You've been listening to Vern Rayburn?
hollanich11Sep 15, 2006
this might be a problem though for things like 9/11, those planes were going fast but not mach speed and it took at least 30Min's for the towers to fall but if these planes come out they will take the whole thing down in secs not Min's but cool story its dugg...