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NASA recently conducted flight experiments at Edwards
Air Force Base in Southern California to examine the
effect of low-amplitude sonic booms on large office
buildings. As part of the Sonic Booms On Big
Structures effort, two NASA F/A-18 aircraft from
NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center flew a series of
supersonic runs that caused multiple sonic booms
of varying intensity over Edwards.
(sound of jet flying overhead and loud sonic boom)
This is actually a very important step in our process
of understanding community response to sonic boom.
So what we set out to do today was concentrate on
booms that we know are within the realm of
capability of our design tools to develop civil
aircraft that can produce those booms.
We brought in some people who have experience with
hearing sonic booms, or some expertise in supersonics
in the past, and we just asked them to experience
a number of booms, a very low overpressure, a very low
loudness boom, to a moderate loudness boom.
We had instruments outside that recorded the data
so that we can correlate that with other tests
that we have done with outdoor booms and booms
in smaller structures. We're just interested in
getting the perception of the folks listening
to the booms.
(sound of jet flying overhead and loud sonic boom)
So we're simulating what we anticipate will be
the boom level of a new aircraft by using an
existing F-18 airplane. To do that we have to
dive the airplane in a unique manner, and tha
creates both a quiet boom at the location
where we want to measure, but also some loud booms
in the vicinity. We're working on the
technology that will enable a next generation
of supersonic aircraft that the public can
fly on. But we don't want to do that in a way
that creates a disturbance. The technology that
we're developing will result in quiet supersonic
aircraft.
(sound of jet flying overhead and loud sonic boom)
NASA engineers are now reviewing data from
sensitive instrumentation installed in a recently
constructed office building at Edwards to determine
the building's structural response to the momentary
overpressure of the sonic shockwaves.