Why aren t commercial jets supersonic?

Well, actually there are a couple of good reasons – and a few bad ones. The valid reasons are concerns over sonic boom, fuel economy, and market demand – with the last one being the primary driver. If there are not enough customers buying the planes, companies won't be able to recover their R&D costs or make a profit.



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Current rules prohibit commercial airplanes from flying at supersonic speeds over land because of the noise levels associated with sonic booms and the negative impacts to humans and animals.

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The power, or volume, of the shock wave depends on the quantity of air that is being accelerated, and thus the size and shape of the aircraft. As the aircraft increases speed the shock cone gets tighter around the craft and becomes weaker to the point that at very high speeds and altitudes no boom is heard.

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Flight faster than sound was thought to be impossible. In fact, the sound barrier was only an increase in the drag near sonic conditions because of compressibility effects. Because of the high drag associated with compressibility effects, aircraft do not cruise near Mach 1.

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Penney said they are allowed to break the sound barrier in a limited number of scenarios: over the ocean or on a training range where it won't disrupt everyday life, or in an emergency with a superior's approval.

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If human manoeuvre that speed Mach 1(1225 Kph), the air friction will increase the body temperature enormously. It will almost boil the body. The strange symptoms including temporary vision loss, loss of consciousness and weightlessness. The turbulence causes parts of the body swell out.

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What does it feel like to travel at Mach 3, 15 miles above the earth? Pilots report that, with no view out the window, there's an eerie sensation of motionlessness when cruising in the Blackbird. To fly safely in this harsh, low-pressure environment pilots must wear a full-pressure suit for protection.

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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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Of course. Two people sitting in your run-of-the-mill supersonic airplane such as the Concorde can easily carry out conversations, without much trouble.

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By the early 1970s however, opposition led to bans on commercial supersonic flight in Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, West Germany, Switzerland, Ireland, Canada and the United States.

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