Supersonic commercial travel was briefly possible in the twentieth century when the Concorde flew. But the window-rattling sonic boom of that aircraft made governments restrict supersonic travel over land. Now Keep reading
Tag: aircraft
Sonic Booms and Urban Canyons
In the days of the Concorde — thus far the world’s only supersonic passenger jet — noise complaints from residents kept the aircraft from faster-than-sound travel except over the open Keep reading
Vortices and Ground Effect
Though typically unseen, the vortices that swirl from the tips of aircraft wings are powerful. Here you see a Hawker Sea Fury equipped with a smoke system used to visualize Keep reading
Bounce or Freeze?
Icing is a major problem for aircraft. When ice builds up on the leading edge of a wing it creates major disruptions in flow around the wing and can lead to Keep reading
Turbojet Engines
[original media no longer available] GE has a great new video with a straightforward explanation of the turbojet and the turbofan engines. The simplest description of the engines–suck, squeeze, bang, Keep reading
Wing-Warping
This replica of the Wright brothers’ 1902 glider demonstrates one of the important innovations the brothers contributed toward powered heavier-than-air flight. To control an aircraft in roll, the Wright brothers developed Keep reading