How the XB-1 aircraft became supersonic without a sonic boom

When the experimental XB-1 aircraft broke the sound barrier three times during his first supersonic flight on January 28, it did not produce a Sonic Boom Audible from Earth, according to the US company Boom Supersonic.

“This confirms what we have long thought: Supersonic Travel can be affordable, sustainable and friendly to those on board and on the ground,” said Blake Scholl, founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic, in a press released.

When an aircraft pushes through the atmosphere at high speeds, it changes the air pressure around it and creates sound waves. And when a supersonic flight exceeds the sound speed – Mach 1, or approx. 1224 kilometers per hour – combine these sound waves to form a shock wave that spreads away from the flight road. This sonic boom can travel far enough to reach the group where it produces an extremely high noise, Rastles buildings and even breaks glass.

Sonic Booms Over Land is so disruptive that they are contributing to the withdrawal of legendary commercial Airliner Concorde in 2003 and spurred many countries to ban commercial supersonic aircraft. Since then, aviation engineers have been trying to develop flight design that can go supersonic without boom.

In this case, the XB-1 utilized a physics phenomenon called Mach Cutoff. Becuse Sound moves.

The trick is that temperature and wind also affect sound speeds, so the ideal height and speed of supersonic aircraft depends on atmospheric conditions. “The actual challenge is to become very accurate atmospheric forecasts for temperature and about the wind computer, as the practical Mach-Cutoff aircraft is pretty straightforward from there,” says Bernd Liebhardt at the German Aviation Center in Germany.

Boom Supersonic says the XB-1’s latest and last test flight on February 10 also reached supersonic speeds without boom. Now the company uses what it reads from the test flights to help its future commercial airplane, called Overture, achieve the same business. Supersonic overland flights would be up to 50 percent faster than today’s commercial carriers. It could make travel time from New York to Los Angeles 90 minutes shorter.

Flying with supersonic speeds below shorter overland routes could also burn less fuel than flying at the “aerodynamic worst speed” – just below the sound barrier – says Liebhardt. But he ensured that TATHING Advantage at Mach Cutoff is probably more of a niche use box for “Supersonic Business Jet users”. It would provide less of a financial payment for a commercial airline service.