Supersonic Flight Lower_P02

South Bay’s experience may have been a reminder of California’s contribution to supersonic flight. It was at Muroc (now Edwards) Air Force base in 1947 that the sound barrier was first broken. The famous test pilot, Chuck Yeager, holds the honor of the first man to ever fly faster than the speed of sound. The plane used was Bell’s X-1 rocket plane. He named it Glamorous Glennis after his wife.

For the people of South Bay, the fact it was a sonic boom and not an earthquake was good news. Having never heard a sonic boom and not even aware that it was possible, it is easy to understand why there was confusion. A sonic boom is a transfer of energy just like an earthquake.

Both are mechanical waves. And both are capable of transferring energy via waves through a medium. As these waves hit solid objects, it will cause them to vibrate, such as in the case of windows and walls in the South Bay area.

USAF Capt. Charles E. Yeager (shown standing with the Bell X-1 supersonic rocket plane) became the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound in level flight on Oct. 14, 1947.

It was this potential to cause damage that prompted many governments around the world to ban supersonic flight over land. Supersonic flight in the US was banned in the early seventies. Before then, it was the dream of the commercial airline business to fly supersonic. Their goal was to get passengers to their destinations in a fraction of the time.

The Concorde, a supersonic passenger plane, took its last flight over ten years ago. These flights ended for many reasons. One reason was the plane was very expensive to operate. It was only profitable for use on long flights. Due to public criticism of sonic booms, legislation banning faster than sound flight over the US and Europe was put in place.

As a result, the Concorde was only able to fly supersonic over the oceans. This further restricted its use and profitability. Fortunately for travelers, ways of reducing the effects of sonic booms are underway. Maybe someday soon, the possibility of flying from New York to Paris in half the time will once again become a reality. Until then, occasional loud booms along the coastline may be the only reminder that flying faster than the speed of sound is possible.