Tag Archives: Speed of sound

Aviation in 1953: Military Aviation (North American F-100 Fighter)

Posted on by
Reply

The F-100 is one of the largest single-seater fighters ever built, with a gross weight of nearly 30,000 lb. Wings are swept back 45 deg., and a new tail configuration is obviously aimed at improving stability at the high speeds of which the F-100 is capable. It has a top design speed of about 800 mph. and has flown faster than the speed of sound repeatedly in level flight.

Both the B-52 and the F-100 are powered by the Pratt & Whitney J57 split-compressor turbojet, delivering approximately 10,000 lb. static thrust at sea level. The F-100 is equipped with an afterburner that adds an estimated 5,000 lb. to basic engine power for short intervals.

The F-100 reportedly attained level flight speeds around Mach 1.08 (1.08 times the speed of sound), while the Lockheed F-104, scheduled to make its first flight early in 1954, will fly at 1,500 mph, according to reports from the West Coast.

 

Related articles

Supersonics

Posted on by
Reply

Supersonics is an important branch of aerodynamics that concerns phenomena that arise when the velocity of a solid body exceeds the speed of sound in the medium, usually air, in which it is traveling. The speed of sound in the atmosphere varies with humidity, temperature, and pressure. Because the speed of sound, being thus variable, is a critical factor in aerodynamic equations, it is represented by a so-called Mach number, named after the Austrian physicist and philosopher Ernst Mach, who pioneered the study of ballistics. The Mach number is the speed of the projectile or aircraft with reference to the ambient atmosphere, divided by the speed of sound in the same medium and under the same conditions. Thus at sea level, under standard conditions of humidity and temperature, a speed of about 1220 km/h (about 760 mph) represents a Mach number of one, that is, M-1. The same speed in the stratosphere, because of differences in density, pressure, and temperature, would correspond to a Mach number of M-1.16. By designating speeds by Mach number, rather than by kilometers or miles per hour, a more accurate representation of the actual conditions encountered in flight can be obtained and thus making supersonics an important subject in space exploration.

Related articles