Sun Jan 16, 2005 7:31 am
bdk wrote:Well, sounded far louder that the space shuttle descending into Edwards AFB if that tells you anything. Two distinct cracks.
That certainly seems to fit the bill, since there are always two booms in succession with a *real* sonic boom.
Given the circumstances you mentioned, though, I'm highly skeptical. I'd be really interested to know how the pilot in question managed to accelerate that much while exiting a loop. There are two things working against each other there...acceleration and turn performance.
Especially given how much a fighter's turn radius opens when approaching supersonic, I'd think that it would not be a good time to do that while your nose is pointed at the dirt.
Anyway, it's all armchair quarterbacking at this point.
bdk wrote:Remember that in this day and age one's perception is far more important than actual fact!
Unfortunately all too true. It is very annoying when people don't want to be bothered by fact, though. Don't even get me started on every photo on the internet of a pressure wave on a jet, where the photographer is claiming to have caught the subject aircraft "just as it is breaking the sound barrier!"
Bzzzzt! We're sorry, incorrect answer.
Sun Jan 16, 2005 11:46 pm
If that is what is happening, I've been in the back of an MD-80 on takeoff that has done that! Those MD-80's are great performers, but...Randy Haskin wrote:Don't even get me started on every photo on the internet of a pressure wave on a jet, where the photographer is claiming to have caught the subject aircraft "just as it is breaking the sound barrier!"
