247 Detectives

Please Call NOW 0845 520 4121 / 07017 411 007

Please Call NOW 0845 520 4121 / 07017 411 007

Content Area 1

1st Call Detectives Blog

Get the latest information & news from the industry...

Archive +

Tags

Archive by Date

Future of flight: superfast, but not superloud

by Josef Kafka

NASA is working on ways to construct a new generation of commercial airplane that would break the sound barrier – but without the deafening boom that has bedevilled supersonic craft up to now. 

The US government agency is better known for its construction of rockets and spacecraft but is also deeply involved in aeronautics research – hence the "A" in its acronym. It’s working with partner agencies and aviation companies to bring about the return of the supersonic era that was once heralded with the arrival of Concorde, allowing people to fly from London to New York in just three and a half hours – half the time of a regular plane.

The only, and major, problems with the now mothballed Concorde were the huge cost of operating the craft that meant hefty ticket prices, and the explosive-sounding shockwave experienced down on the ground as it flew faster than the speed of sound (768 miles per hour, and Concorde had a top speed of 1,354 mph) – seeing it banned from flying over many places. Now NASA and its partners want to change all that and dramatically reduce the time it takes to fly around the world.

Ship-shape 

It's all about the shape of an aircraft as it moves through the air, and researchers at NASA's Langley Research Centre in Virginia are trying to determine the design of a plane going supersonic that would only produce a low-boom effect. As part of this process, the agency wants to know just why people are so annoyed by the boom effects of supersonic flight, as well as the rattling or vibration that follows it.

To find out, NASA is conducting tests using 102 powerful speakers placed in the walls of a room and shakers put in a number of chairs to make them vibrate. Volunteers are then subjected to varying degrees of sounds resembling sonic booms that are created by computer modelling. Their reaction to the loud sounds and vibration in their chairs is then noted. Researchers are currently analysing the data they have so far obtained, and so it’s not yet known precisely what the factors that irritate people are. 

Out in the open 

These tests are not just taking place in the artificial environment of a lab, however. NASA is also conducting real-life tests of sonic effects out in real communities. Field studies are now underway in which NASA is flying existing supersonic aircraft over residential areas, for as long as a fortnight in some places, and then quizzes people living in their homes about what they thought of the sound and vibrations.

Is it realistic to expect a low-boom supersonic airliner in the not too distant future? NASA hopes so. It's aiming for just under a decade, and says that by 2025 such craft should be taking to the skies. From then on, it’s expected that larger and more powerful supersonic aeroplanes would start being introduced into commercial aviation, radically slashing flying times to major cities around the world, and doing so quietly.

Leave a comment
Areas & Postcodes We Cover
  • NW7, NW9, NW4, NW11, NW2, NW10, NW6, NW3, NW8, NW5, NW1, N20, N12, N3, N2, N10, N6, N8, N19, N7, N1, N5, N4, N16, N15, N17, N18, N11, N14, N21, N9, N13, N22 
  • E4, E17, E18, E5, E10, E11, E8, E9, E2, E1, E14, E3, E16, E6, E13, E15, E7, E12, SW6, SW10, SW5, SW7, SW3, SW1, SW14, SW13, SW15, SW20, SW19, SW18, SW17, SW16, SW12, SW2, SW9, SW8, SW11, SW4
  • EC4, EC1, EC2, EC3, SE1, SE11, SE17, SE16, SE5, SE15, SE14, SE8, SE24, SE22, SE4, SE21, SE23, SE26, SE20, SE25, SE19, SE6, SE12, SE9, SE18, SE2, SE28, SE7, SE10, SE3, SE13 
  • W1P W1M W1N W1R W1S W1T W1U W1V W1W W1X W1Y W1K W1J W1H W1A W1B W1C W1D W1F W1G W2 W3 W4 W5 W6 W7 W8 W9 W10 W11 W12 W13 W14
     
  • © All rights reserved 2014 '1st Call Detectives'
  • /
  • Website designed & devloped by evokeu