4.

High Speed Flight

4.1 Subsonic, Transonic and Supersonic Flight
Definitions
Sound
Sound waves consist of a succession of weak pressure disturbances which propagate through a
medium. Sound is created in the human brain in response to sensory inputs from the inner ear
which is sensitive to variations in pressure. Sound can travel through solid, liquid and gaseous
bodies, but not through a vacuum as it exists in outer space.
The speed of sound depends on the type of medium and the temperature of the medium. At 15
C and 1013.25 hpa, sound travels through air at 341.24 m/s, through steel at 5,189 m/s, in
water at 1,450 m/s and through rubber at 45 m/s.
Speed of Sound in Air
Refer to Figure 1.
The speed of sound in air is determined by three factors:

the ratio of specific heats Gamma

the gas constant R
the absolute temperature

The speed of sound is equal to the square root of the ratio of specific heats (Gamma) multiplied
by the gas constant (R) and the absolute temperature (T).
The temperature must be specified on an absolute scale (Kelvin or Rankin).
With Gamma and R being fixed values, the speed of sound in air depends entirely on the
temperature.
Since the temperature decreases with altitude through the lower portions of the atmosphere, the
speed of sound decreases as altitude increases.
Subsonic
Subsonic flight is flight at an airspeed in which all air flowing over the aircraft is moving at a
speed below the speed of sound. The subsonic speed range extends from 0 to the critical Mach
number Mcrit which is at approx. Mach 0.75, depending on the aircraft.
Transonic

Transonic flight is flight at an airspeed in which some air flowing over the aircraft is moving at a
speed below the speed of sound and another portion of the air is moving at a speed greater
than the speed of sound.
The transonic speed range extends from Mach 0.75 to Mach 1.25.
Supersonic
Supersonic flight is flight at an airspeed in which all air flowing over the aircraft is moving at a
speed higher than the speed of sound. The supersonic speed range extends from Mach 1.30 to
Mach 5.00.
Hypersonic
Hypersonic speeds are speeds higher than Mach 5. Research is underway using various
concepts such as the Hypersonic Waverider, however, hypersonic flight conditions have not yet
been achieved.