Question on Sonic Booms
- Thread starter bushmaster1313
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-- to have witnessed that! 
I was at Edwards AFB in 1987 when they had an open house to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Air Force. Chuck Yeager went up in an F-4 and did a supersonic flyby at about 5000 ft. They had the cockpit com routed through the PA and he said, "That was a lot easier than it was the first time!"
I've also been at Edwards when a shuttle came in to land. The space shuttle was big enough that it created two distinct sonic booms, one from the nose and one from the tail. Sounded kinda like a pair of shotgun blasts in rapid succession.
I recommend getting a copy (preferably Bluray) of the 1984 IMAX film "The Dream Is Alive" which is all about the space shuttle. It opens with a landing at Kennedy Space Center and a double sonic boom. I saw it when it was originally playing at IMAX theaters and the sound was amazing. The launch shown a little later even more so, with a viewpoint right at the pad. You really need big speakers and subwoofers to truly appreciate it.
I've also been at Edwards when a shuttle came in to land. The space shuttle was big enough that it created two distinct sonic booms, one from the nose and one from the tail. Sounded kinda like a pair of shotgun blasts in rapid succession.
I recommend getting a copy (preferably Bluray) of the 1984 IMAX film "The Dream Is Alive" which is all about the space shuttle. It opens with a landing at Kennedy Space Center and a double sonic boom. I saw it when it was originally playing at IMAX theaters and the sound was amazing. The launch shown a little later even more so, with a viewpoint right at the pad. You really need big speakers and subwoofers to truly appreciate it.
The shockwave is a cone shape......
A plane traveling faster than sound generates a shock wave in the shape of a cone. Where the cone intersects the ground is where you hear the sonic boom. The cone follows the plane as long as it is supersonic. Being a sideways cone, a supersonic plane (depending on altitude) passes over an area before the sonic boom hits.
I like hearing a sonic boom now and again but back in the 60's there were so many planes going supersonic there were booms all day long. It got pretty irritating so they banned planes from going supersonic except in certain areas.
Another flying phenomena that is extremely loud is a heavy multi engine prop plane flying at low altitude with the props in a certain position. A deafening, pulsing roar that precludes hearing and thinking for a few moments.
A plane traveling faster than sound generates a shock wave in the shape of a cone. Where the cone intersects the ground is where you hear the sonic boom. The cone follows the plane as long as it is supersonic. Being a sideways cone, a supersonic plane (depending on altitude) passes over an area before the sonic boom hits.
I like hearing a sonic boom now and again but back in the 60's there were so many planes going supersonic there were booms all day long. It got pretty irritating so they banned planes from going supersonic except in certain areas.
Another flying phenomena that is extremely loud is a heavy multi engine prop plane flying at low altitude with the props in a certain position. A deafening, pulsing roar that precludes hearing and thinking for a few moments.
I was feeling lousy.....
I was feeling lousy and laying in the bed at the Space Shuttle Inn outside Mims, which is right in line with the landing pattern only a few miles from the Space Center. It was cloudy so I don't know if I could have seen it had I tried., but there was no mistaking that the Shuttle passed overhead. The twin booms about knocked me out of the bed.
I wish I was there when Yeager did the fly by.
I was feeling lousy and laying in the bed at the Space Shuttle Inn outside Mims, which is right in line with the landing pattern only a few miles from the Space Center. It was cloudy so I don't know if I could have seen it had I tried., but there was no mistaking that the Shuttle passed overhead. The twin booms about knocked me out of the bed.
I wish I was there when Yeager did the fly by.
Rastoff
US Veteran
Yeager used to open the air show with a sonic boom every year. Trust me, you're not missing anything.I wish I was there when Yeager did the fly by.
OK, I'm going to stop here about Yeager. Anything else will get me banned.
R. G. Amos
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Well, I guess it would...the first time.
Basically, as long as the aircraft is flying faster than the speed of sound (mach) it is dragging a cone of disturbed air. As that cone passes you on the ground, you hear a boom. It sounds like an explosion. The very first time it happened they thought the aircraft had exploded in air. The Bell X-1 was a rocket after all so that was a real possibility.
I don't jump anymore. Here at Edwards we have our own air space. We have a super sonic corridor that our pilots can use at their discretion. Sonic booms are very common here. So common in fact, we sometimes have to reset the fluorescent light bulbs because the vibration can cause them to rattle loose.
However, it is very expensive to fly at those speeds. Only the F-22 can fly super sonic without using the after burner. Even so, when flying at that speed, they are burning fuel at an alarming rate. I was sitting in a T-38 for an engine test. We ran in full after burner for about 3 minutes. I could literally watch the fuel gauge drop because we were burning about 10lbs of fuel a second.That plane can just barely go super sonic.
This is really not quite correct. When an aircraft flies slower than the speed of sound, disturbances are created in the air which propogate forward to in effect let the air in front of the aircraft know it is coming. When the aircraft exceeds the speed of sound, these disturbances can not propagate faster than the airplane is flying so in accordance with the dictates of nature the aircraft creates a compression wave in the atmosphere. This compression wave is what is heard. It is not dragged along but continues to form as the aircraft continues supersonic flight in undisturbed air.
Thanks for the recommendation! I just watched it on youtube (no fancy sound though
). It was fantastic.
Growing up in southern Iowa during the cold war days, we would hear booms at least once a week. Not sure what aircraft was doing it , but it got to be quite common. . What was more hair raising was the fly overs of B-47s trying to fly under radar. These large long range bombers (just a bit smaller than a B-52) would blast in overhead and be gone before you knew what was going on. And they flew night and day; I remember being almost asleep at night and having one fly over at tree top level.
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I grew up in St. Louis, in the 60's and 70's. It was the home of McDonnell Douglas - one of the largest producers of supersonic capable aircraft in the world in those days. My dad worked on the F4 for several years as a precision sheet metal worker.
I don't remember the first time I heard a sonic boom. We grew up with them as daily occurrences and thought that was just normal. I was probably in jr. high school before I realized that all jets weren't capable of super-sonic flight.
The shock wave will rattle windows. I never saw it break any, but I've seen standing plates in our china cabinet fall over from the concussion and vibration.
I don't remember the first time I heard a sonic boom. We grew up with them as daily occurrences and thought that was just normal. I was probably in jr. high school before I realized that all jets weren't capable of super-sonic flight.
The shock wave will rattle windows. I never saw it break any, but I've seen standing plates in our china cabinet fall over from the concussion and vibration.
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BUFF
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
Buff, here is a photo for you, from 1988:
Thanks! My trip was probably 1991-1992. One of the best days of my life. F-14, A-6, S-2, the turboprop AWACS, helicopters. A-6 dropped a bomb on a smoke marker with a lob maneuver. I got to watch the show from my B-I-L's radar antenna mount, probably 3 or 4 stories up on the rear of the island. Best seats in the house!
Hill AFB is just north of Salt Lake. When they had F-105's there, we'd get startled by them screaming down canyons in the Uintah mountains when we were fishing and hiking, then later F-16's took over the job. Don't see them doing that much over the forests anymore, they do most of their low altitude and ACM training at the Deseret Test and Training Range out in the western deserts.
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F75gunslinger
Member
But have you ever SEEN a sonic boom?
This thread sure makes me feel old....living in Alamagordo, NM...late 50s-early 60s...sonic booms were so common, most stopped being startled, was a very active time around Hollowman AFB.
To this day, an unexpected bang, still does not get a jump out of me.
To this day, an unexpected bang, still does not get a jump out of me.
We are between MacDill and Homestead (Now Air Reserve). Last few weeks there have been several really loud booms.
I remember many years ago out on the boat and two fighters came over they were so low the pilots waved to us they were hauling butt!! It was really impressive!
I remember many years ago out on the boat and two fighters came over they were so low the pilots waved to us they were hauling butt!! It was really impressive!
model70hunter
Member
I've heard them. Close to the Army base and the bombing range was on the south end, close to where we deer hunted.
But the East coast ones were different. It was our pilots guiding UFO's to area 51.
But the East coast ones were different. It was our pilots guiding UFO's to area 51.
First one I heard, actually two almost simultaneous was at King Salmon AFS, Alaska. Two F-15's scrambled to intercept a Russian aircraft. I knew it was coming but it made me jump. And I'm not jumpy.
But have you ever SEEN a sonic boom?
Yes, I have.
