Supersonic transport

Supersonic transport is passenger air travel at speeds greater than the speed of sound. Its defining engineering challenge is making that speed practical while controlling noise, fuel use, and operating costs.

Sonic boom: A pressure disturbance produced when an object travels faster than sound, heard on the ground as a sudden explosive sound. Supersonic aircraft generate boom waves whose ground impact has restricted where they can fly.
Concorde: A British-French supersonic passenger airliner that flew commercially from 1976 to 2003. Concorde remains the only supersonic transport to sustain scheduled transatlantic passenger service.
Subsonic transport: Passenger air travel at speeds below the speed of sound. Most airline service uses subsonic aircraft, which generally consume less fuel and can fly over land without sonic-boom restrictions.
Aircraft noise pollution: Unwanted sound generated by aircraft operations, including takeoff, landing, and flight. Loud takeoffs and landings have been a persistent obstacle for supersonic aircraft near airports.
Chuck Yeager: An American test pilot who first flew faster than sound in level flight in 1947. His milestone demonstrated controlled supersonic flight, preceding the development of passenger transports.
Area rule: An aerodynamic design principle that reduces transonic drag by smoothing changes in an aircraft’s cross-sectional area along its length. The area rule helps reduce drag as passenger aircraft accelerate through the sound barrier.
Tupolev Tu-144: A Soviet supersonic passenger aircraft that entered commercial service in 1977 and was withdrawn from passenger operations in 1978. Its brief service contrasts with Concorde’s longer commercial career.
Hypersonic flight: Flight at speeds conventionally defined as Mach 5 or greater. It extends high-speed flight beyond the regime targeted by passenger supersonic transports.
ICAO: The United Nations specialized agency that develops international standards and recommended practices for civil aviation. International aviation standards influence noise and emissions requirements for future supersonic aircraft.
Bell X-1: An experimental rocket-powered aircraft that broke the sound barrier in level flight in 1947. Its flights helped establish the aerodynamic knowledge that later supersonic aircraft programs built upon.

Linked from 10 pages