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Mach 1 & Beyond: The Quest for Supersonic Flight

J.M. Syken

Course Outline

In this course, we will examine the fascinating history of trans-sonic, supersonic and hypersonic flight from its origins to the present-day. This will include the early efforts of the “Rocketeers” who sought to transport goods (i.e. mail) and people at high speed – approaching and/or surpassing the speed of sound. In particular, the work of Doctor R.H. Goddard whose pioneering work in rocketry would ultimately lead to space flight and exploration will be reviewed in-depth.

We will review the work of German aircraft designers during WWII and their legacy to the quest to design and build supersonic aircraft. The post-WWII development of aerodynamic shapes, propulsion systems and metallurgy which would allow the sound barrier to be broken for the first time in aviation history by a U.S. Air Force experimental aircraft in October 1947 and subsequent USAF experimental/operational super/hypersonic aircraft research and development will be the subject of much discussion. As well, the efforts starting in the late 1950s to build a commercial SuperSonic Transport (SST), its successes and failures, will be of great interest.

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the student will:

• Understand/appreciate the origins of man’s desire to fly at high-speed;
• Understand/appreciate the work of Ernst Mach and the development of the “Mach Scale”;
• Understand/appreciate the work of the “Rocketeers” and their influences on trans/super/hypersonic flight;
• Understand/appreciate the physical barriers to faster-than-sound flight;
• Understand/appreciate the technological barriers to faster-than-sound flight and how they were overcome;
• Understand/appreciate the work of Germany during WWII to develop operational trans/supersonic fighter aircraft;
• Understand/appreciate the research and development efforts of the U.S. Air Force during the Cold War period to develop, perfect and make operational tactical, reconnaissance and strategic super/hypersonic aircraft;
• Understand/appreciate the need/development of a commercial supersonic transport (SST) and the international competition it generated;
• Understand/appreciate the American, Russian and Anglo-French effort/s to design/construct and operational SST;
• Understand/appreciate the successes and failures of commercial SST development; and
• Understand/appreciate the future of super/hypersonic commercial flight.

Intended Audience

This course is intended for architects, engineers and other design professionals.

Benefit to Attendees

The attendee/s will gain an intimate knowledge and insight into the history of the quest for manned flight beyond the speed of sound.

Course Introduction

The course includes an in-depth PowerPoint presentation and the viewing a short documentary film.

Course Content

In this course, you are required to view/study the following slideshow and the materials contained in the web pages:

Mach 1 & Beyond: The Quest for Supersonic Flight (printable handout in PDF, 5 MB, see Note A below for downloading instruction)
Mach 1 & Beyond: The Quest for Supersonic Flight (non-printable slideshow for screen-viewing only, 21 MB, see Note A below for downloading instruction)

Archival/Documentary Film:

TITLE: Ticket Through the Sound Barrier (1966)
LINK: http://archive.org/details/TicketThroughTheSoundBarrier
DURATION: 28:13

TITLE: Modern Marvels - Breaking the Sound Barrier
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w07LG-WjKJ4
DURATION: 45:01

Note A: Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right-clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader from your computer.

Course Summary

Mankind was not given the gift of flight as a birthright, but that didn’t stop people from dreaming. The dream of flight came to fruition first with lighter-than-air balloons and, by the early 20th Century, heavier-than-air powered flight was achieved. The decades before and after the First World War saw a steady improvement in the design and propulsion of aircraft, culminating in the superb prop-driven aircraft – on both sides of the conflict – of WWII. But propeller driven planes had their limits, one of which was the inability to fly at or near the speed of sound. Even in “terminal velocity” dive – the closest they ever came to “Mach 1” (the speed of sound), the aerodynamic drag produced was such that if the plane itself didn’t come apart, its speed was still well shy of the “sound barrier.” Rocket engines, aerodynamically efficient fuselage profiles, swept-back wings, sophisticated metallurgy and an understanding of the dynamics of trans/hypersonic flight would ultimately lead to the launch of the first commercial supersonic transport: Concorde, in 1976. A horrific accident in July 2000 sidelined the Concorde fleet and the decline in air travel in the aftermath of 9/11 would make Concorde economically unviable, but it had made its mark on the world. Indeed, Concorde may be gone, but it is far from ever being forgotten.

Related Links

For additional technical information related to this subject, please visit the following websites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supersonic_transport

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concorde
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypersonic

http://archive.org/details/gov.archives.arc.653130
(Takeoff SST {Supersonic Transport Aircraft TU-144} {1969})

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LXW3pHNn_U
(Film: How Airplanes Fly [1968] - 18:29)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4XBSAAjztU
(Film: Why Blue Paint Caused Problems for Concorde - 07:13)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p30E3LGIaM
(Film: The Plane that Almost Melted - The X-15 A2 and the Fastest Flight Ever - 14:18)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3O4G_2Z0FnI
(Film: Fairy Delta 2 British Supersonic Aircraft - 10:28)

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.