Did Concorde have a sonic boom?

Because of the thunderous sonic boom Concorde trailed behind it whenever it flew faster than Mach 1, the speed of sound. As much as Americans embrace speed and convenience, the Concorde's nerve-jangling bang was unacceptable, especially since most could never afford to fly it.



Yes, the Concorde produced a massive sonic boom, which was one of the primary reasons for its eventual economic and operational limitations. A sonic boom occurs when an aircraft exceeds the speed of sound (Mach 1), creating a continuous "shockwave" of air pressure that sounds like a loud double-thud to anyone on the ground within the "boom carpet" (an area up to 30 miles wide beneath the flight path). Because of the noise complaints and the potential for the boom to shatter glass or disturb livestock, the Concorde was strictly banned from flying at supersonic speeds over land. This meant it could only reach its top speed of Mach 2.04 while over the Atlantic Ocean, forcing it to fly at subsonic speeds (similar to a standard jet) when departing from London or Paris until it cleared the coast. This restriction significantly limited the number of viable routes for the aircraft, ultimately confining its commercial success to the New York and Washington, D.C. corridors before its retirement in 2003.

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People inside the plane didn't hear a thing. In fact, the transition to supersonic flight was so unimpressive that they decided to install a “mach meter” inside the passenger cabin so that people would know then they passed the speed of sound.

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No. The sonic boom is the equivalent of a bow-wave on a boat and is continuous behind the supersonic aircraft. An observer on the ground would hear one “boom” as that wave passes by but every point along the ground under the supersonic aircraft will experience the “boom.”

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Fifty years ago, the federal government banned all civilian supersonic flights over land. The rule prohibits non-military aircraft from flying faster than sound so their resulting sonic booms won't startle the public below or concern them about potential property damage.

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This path is known as the “boom carpet. If you're WONDERing about how pilots handle sonic booms, they actually don't hear them. They can see the pressure waves around the plane, but people on board the airplane can't hear the sonic boom. Like the wake of a ship, the boom carpet unrolls behind the airplane.

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Concorde were allowed to fly over land, but subsonically only. The Concorde was terribly inefficient, relatively speaking, at subsonic velocity in general. At supersonic speeds, the shockwave could cause real damage on the ground. Concorde was capable of Mach 2.04, 1,354 mph and cruised at altitude at 1,340 mph.

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Afterburning was added to Concorde for take-off to cope with weight increases that came after the initial design. It was also used to accelerate through the high-drag transonic speed range, not because the extra thrust was required, but because it was available and improved the operating economics.

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So, to answer the question, yes, some fighter jets are faster than the Concorde. However, it is important to note that the Concorde was primarily designed for passenger travel, not for combat or aerial maneuvers.

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Such speed didn't come cheap, though: A transatlantic flight required the high-maintenance aircraft to gulp jet fuel at the rate of one ton per seat, and the average round-trip price was $12,000.

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The short answer is no. While the Concorde was undoubtedly fast, reaching speeds of up to Mach 2.04 (1,354 mph or 2,180 km/h), it fell short of the blistering speeds of a bullet.

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Technical, financial, and regulatory hurdles make a return to the skies extremely unlikely. Concorde is an aircraft that captures the imagination and is instantly recognizable even to non-aviation fanatics.

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Aircraft are put through extreme testing during their certification, but such limits are never intended to be actually faced. The 747 -100, for instance, was tested up to Mach 0.99, almost breaking the sound barrier. Other 747s, such as Air Force One, have approached the sound barrier but never crossed it.

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