few degrees. A swept-back wing format is used with trikes.

Another design method is anhedral,

where the wings are angled down from the wing root, but it is unlikely to be used in light
aircraft, although the powered parachute wing utilizes an anhedral arc for stability.

SPIRAL INSTABILITY
An aircraft with positive spiral stability tends to roll out of a turn by itself if the controls
are centered. Some light aircraft with little or no wing dihedral and a large fin tend to have strong
static directional stability but are not so stable laterally. If a sideslip is introduced by turbulence,
such aircraft left to their own devices will gradually start to bank and turn, with increasing slip,
and hence increasing turn rate and rapid increase in height loss. The condition is spiral
instability and the process is spiral divergence which, if allowed to continue and given
sufficient height, will turn into a high-speed spiral dive, which often occurs when a pilot without
an instrument flight rating strays into thick cloud. Neutral spiral stability is the usual aim of the
designer. It is evident that directional stability and lateral stability are coupled (i.e. rotation about
one axis prompts rotation about the other) and to produce a balanced turn; i.e. with no slip or
skid, the aileron, rudder and elevator control movements and pressures must be balanced and
coordinated.

FREE DIRECTIONAL OSCILLATIONS (DUTCH ROLL)

Dutch Roll is a coupled lateral/directional oscillation that is usually dynamically stable
but is objectionable in an airplane because of the oscillatory nature. The damping of the
oscillatory mode may be weak or strong depending on the properties of the particular airplane.
Unfortunately, all air is not smooth. There are bumps and depressions created by gusty updrafts
and downdrafts, and by gusts from ahead, behind, or the side of the airplane.
The response of the airplane to a disturbance from equilibrium is a combined
rolling/yawing oscillation in which the rolling motion is phased to precede the yawing motion.
The yawing motion is not too significant, but the roll is much more noticeable. In most modern
airplanes, except high-speed swept wing designs, these free directional oscillations usually die
out automatically in a very few cycles unless the air continues to be gusty or turbulent. Those
airplanes with continuing Dutch Roll tendencies usually are equipped with gyro stabilized yaw
dampers.

AUTOROTATION
Autorotation also known as the full-blown spin with adequate training, an incipient spin is
readily anticipated and easy to correct provided the aircraft weight and balance are within the
stated limits. But, if the correction is not done before the nose has swung maybe 90° or so, it may
develop into autorotation where the aircraft is descending in a stabilized, usually nose-down,
rotation, rolling and yawing in the same direction at a constant airspeed, a full blown spin with
each 360° rotation taking only 3–4 seconds in a very light aircraft. The height loss during each
rotation 200 to 400 feet or more, depending on the stall speed and the steepness of the spin plus
the considerable height loss during the pull-out from the recovery dive, is insignificant at a
reasonable height but will be critical at lower levels.
MACH WAVE

Schlieren photograph of an attached shock on a sharp-nosed supersonic body. The Mach angle is
acute, showing that the body exceeds Mach 1. The angle of the Mach wave (~59 degrees)
indicates a velocity of about Mach 1.17.

A Mach wave is a pressure wave traveling with the speed of sound caused by a slight change
of pressure added to a compressible flow. These weak waves can combine in supersonic flow to
become a shock wave if sufficient Mach waves are present at any location. Such a shock wave is
called a Mach stem or Mach front. Thus, it is possible to have shockless compression or
expansion in a supersonic flow by having the production of Mach waves sufficiently spaced
(cf. isentropic compression in supersonic flows). A Mach wave is the weak limit of an oblique
shock wave where time averages of flow quantities don't change; (a normal shock is the other
limit). If the size of the object moving at the speed of sound is near 0, then this domain of
influence of the wave is called a Mach cone.

Mach angle
A Mach wave propagates across the flow at the Mach angle μ, which is the angle formed
between the Mach wave wavefront and a vector that points opposite to the vector of motion. It is
given by

where M is the Mach number.

Mach waves can be used in schlieren or shadowgraph observations to determine the local Mach
number of the flow. Early observations by Ernst Mach used grooves in the wall of a duct to
produce Mach waves in a duct, which were then photographed by the schlieren method, to obtain
data about the flow in nozzles and ducts. Mach angles may also occasionally be visualized out of
their condensation in air, for example vapor cones around aircraft during transonic flight.
A shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance that
moves faster than the local speed of sound in the medium. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave
 carries energy and can propagate through a medium but is characterized by an abrupt, nearly
discontinuous, change in pressure, temperature, and density of the medium.
For the purpose of comparison, in supersonic flows, additional increased expansion may be
achieved through an expansion fan, also known as a Prandtl–Meyer expansion fan. The
accompanying expansion wave may approach and eventually collide and recombine with the
shock wave, creating a process of destructive interference. The sonic boom associated with the
passage of a supersonic aircraft is a type of sound wave produced by constructive interference.
Shock waves can be:
Normal
At 90° (perpendicular) to the shock medium's flow direction.
Oblique
At an angle to the direction of flow.
Bow
Occurs upstream of the front (bow) of a blunt object when the upstream flow velocity exceeds
Mach 1.
Some other terms:
 Shock front: The boundary over which the physical conditions undergo an abrupt change
because of a shock wave.
 Contact front: In a shock wave caused by a driver gas (for example the "impact" of a high
explosive on the surrounding air), the boundary between the driver (explosive products) and the
driven (air) gases. The contact front trails the shock front.
In supersonic flows

Pressure-time diagram at an external observation point for the case of a supersonic object
propagating past the observer. The leading edge of the object causes a shock (left, in red) and the
trailing edge of the object causes an expansion (right, in blue).
Conical shockwave with its hyperbola-shaped ground contact zone in yellow
Shock waves are formed when a pressure front moves at supersonic speeds and pushes on the
surrounding air. At the region where this occurs, sound waves travelling against the flow reach a
point where they cannot travel any further upstream and the pressure progressively builds in that
region; a high pressure shock wave rapidly forms.
Shock waves are not conventional sound waves; a shock wave takes the form of a very sharp
change in the gas properties. Shock waves in air are heard as a loud "crack" or "snap" noise.
Over longer distances, a shock wave can change from a nonlinear wave into a linear wave,
degenerating into a conventional sound wave as it heats the air and loses energy. The sound
wave is heard as the familiar "thud" or "thump" of a sonic boom, commonly created by
the supersonic flight of aircraft.

Phenomenon types
Below are a number of examples of shock waves, broadly grouped with similar shock
phenomena:
 Shock wave propagating into a stationary medium, ahead of the fireball of an explosion. The
shock is made visible by the shadow effect (Trinity explosion)
Moving shock
 Usually consists of a shock wave propagating into a stationary medium
 In this case, the gas ahead of the shock is stationary (in the laboratory frame) and the gas behind
the shock can be supersonic in the laboratory frame. The shock propagates with a wavefront
which is normal (at right angles) to the direction of flow. The speed of the shock is a function of
the original pressure ratio between the two bodies of gas.
 Moving shocks are usually generated by the interaction of two bodies of gas at different
pressure, with a shock wave propagating into the lower pressure gas and an expansion wave
propagating into the higher pressure gas.
 Examples: Balloon bursting, Shock tube, shock wave from explosion.
Detonation wave
 A detonation wave is essentially a shock supported by a trailing exothermic reaction. It involves
a wave travelling through a highly combustible or chemically unstable medium, such as an
oxygen-methane mixture or a high explosive. The chemical reaction of the medium occurs
following the shock wave, and the chemical energy of the reaction drives the wave forward.
 A detonation wave follows slightly different rules from an ordinary shock since it is driven by
the chemical reaction occurring behind the shock wavefront. In the simplest theory for
detonations, an unsupported, self-propagating detonation wave proceeds at the Chapman-
Jouguet flow velocity. A detonation will also cause a shock of type 1, above to propagate into the
surrounding air due to the overpressure induced by the explosion.
 When a shock wave is created by high explosives such as TNT (which has a detonation
velocity of 6,900 m/s), it will always travel at high, supersonic velocity from its point of origin.

Schlieren photograph of the detached shock on a bullet in supersonic flight, published by Ernst
Mach and Peter Salcher in 1887.

Shadowgram of shock waves from a supersonic bullet fired from a rifle. The shadowgraph
optical technique reveals that the bullet is moving at about a Mach number of 1.9. Left- and
right-running bow waves and tail waves stream back from the bullet and its turbulent wake is
also visible. Patterns at the far right are from unburned gunpowder particles ejected by the rifle.

Bow shock (detached shock)

 These shocks are curved and form a small distance in front of the body. Directly in front of the
body, they stand at 90 degrees to the oncoming flow and then curve around the body. Detached
shocks allow the same type of analytic calculations as for the attached shock, for the flow near
the shock. They are a topic of continuing interest, because the rules governing the shock's
distance ahead of the blunt body are complicated and are a function of the body's shape.
Additionally, the shock standoff distance varies drastically with the temperature for a non-ideal
gas, causing large differences in the heat transfer to the thermal protection system of the vehicle.
See the extended discussion on this topic at Atmospheric reentry. These follow the "strong-
shock" solutions of the analytic equations, meaning that for some oblique shocks very close to
 the deflection angle limit, the downstream Mach number is subsonic. See also bow
shock or oblique shock
 Such a shock occurs when the maximum deflection angle is exceeded. A detached shock is
commonly seen on blunt bodies, but may also be seen on sharp bodies at low Mach numbers.
 Examples: Space return vehicles (Apollo, Space shuttle), bullets, the boundary (Bow shock) of
a magnetosphere. The name "bow shock" comes from the example of a bow wave, the detached
shock formed at the bow (front) of a ship or boat moving through water, whose slow surface
wave speed is easily exceeded (see ocean surface wave).
Attached shock
 These shocks appear as attached to the tip of sharp bodies moving at supersonic speeds.
 Examples: Supersonic wedges and cones with small apex angles.
 The attached shock wave is a classic structure in aerodynamics because, for a perfect gas and
inviscid flow field, an analytic solution is available, such that the pressure ratio, temperature
ratio, angle of the wedge and the downstream Mach number can all be calculated knowing the
upstream Mach number and the shock angle. Smaller shock angles are associated with higher
upstream Mach numbers, and the special case where the shock wave is at 90° to the oncoming
flow (Normal shock), is associated with a Mach number of one. These follow the "weak-shock"
solutions of the analytic equations.
In astrophysics
Astrophysical environments feature many different types of shock waves. Some common
examples are supernovae shock waves or blast waves travelling through the interstellar medium,
the bow shock caused by the Earth's magnetic field colliding with the solar wind and shock
waves caused by galaxies colliding with each other. Another interesting type of shock in
astrophysics is the quasi-steady reverse shock or termination shock that terminates the ultra
relativistic wind from young pulsars.
Meteor entering events

Damage caused by a meteor shock wave.

Shock waves are generated by meteoroids when they enter the Earth’s atmosphere.
The Tunguska event and the 2013 Russian meteor event are the best documented evidence of the
shock wave produced by a massive meteoroid.
When the 2013 meteor entered into the Earth's atmosphere with an energy release equivalent to
100 or more kilotons of TNT, dozens of times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on
Hiroshima, the meteor's shock wave produced damages as in a supersonic jet's flyby (directly
underneath the meteor's path) and as a detonation wave, with the circular shock wave centred at
the meteor explosion, causing multiple instances of broken glass in the city of Chelyabinsk and
neighbouring areas (pictured).
Technological applications
 In the examples below, the shock wave is controlled, produced by (ex. airfoil) or in the interior
of a technological device, like a turbine.
Recompression shock

Recompression shock on a transonic flow airfoil, at and above critical Mach number.

 These shocks appear when the flow over a transonic body is decelerated to subsonic speeds.
 Examples: Transonic wings, turbines
 Where the flow over the suction side of a transonic wing is accelerated to a supersonic speed, the
resulting re-compression can be by either Prandtl–Meyer compression or by the formation of a
normal shock. This shock is of particular interest to makers of transonic devices because it can
cause separation of the boundary layer at the point where it touches the transonic profile. This
can then lead to full separation and stall on the profile, higher drag, or shock-buffet, a condition
where the separation and the shock interact in a resonance condition, causing resonating loads on
the underlying structure.
Pipe flow
 This shock appears when supersonic flow in a pipe is decelerated.
 Examples:
o In supersonic propulsion: ramjet, scramjet, unstart.
o In flow control: needle valve, choked venturi.
 In this case the gas ahead of the shock is supersonic (in the laboratory frame), and the gas behind
the shock system is either supersonic (oblique shocks) or subsonic (a normal shock) (Although
for some oblique shocks very close to the deflection angle limit, the downstream Mach number
is subsonic.) The shock is the result of the deceleration of the gas by a converging duct, or by the
growth of the boundary layer on the wall of a parallel duct.
Combustion engines
The wave disk engine (also named "Radial Internal Combustion Wave Rotor") is a kind
of pistonless rotary engine that utilizes shock waves to transfer energy between a high-energy
fluid to a low-energy fluid, thereby increasing both temperature and pressure of the low-energy
fluid.
Memristors
In memristors, under externally-applied electric field, shock waves can be launched across the
transition-metal oxides, creating fast and non-volatile resistivity changes.
Shock capturing and detection
NASA took their first Schlieren photography of shock waves interacting between two aircraft in
2019.
Advanced techniques are needed to capture shock waves and to detect shock waves in both
numerical computations and experimental observations.
Computational fluid dynamics is commonly used to obtain the flow field with shock waves.
Though shock waves are sharp discontinuities, in numerical solutions of fluid flow with
discontinuities (shock wave, contact discontinuity or slip line), the shock wave can be smoothed
out by low-order numerical method (due to numerical dissipation) or there are spurious
oscillations near shock surface by high-order numerical method .

A supersonic aircraft is an aircraft capable of supersonic flight, which is an aircraft able to fly

faster than the speed of sound (Mach number 1). Supersonic aircraft were developed in the
second half of the twentieth century. Supersonic aircraft have been used for research and military
purposes, but only two supersonic aircraft, the Tupolev Tu-144 (first flown on December 31,
1968) and the Concorde (first flown on March 2, 1969), ever entered service for civil use as
airliners. Fighter jets are the most common example of supersonic aircraft.
The aerodynamics of supersonic flight is called compressible flow because of
the compression associated with the shock waves or "sonic boom" created by any object
travelling faster than sound.
Aircraft flying at speeds above Mach 5 are often referred to as hypersonic aircraft.
Design principles
Supersonic flight brings with it substantial technical challenges, as the aerodynamics of
supersonic flight are dramatically different from those of subsonic flight (i.e., flight at speeds
slower than that of sound). In particular, aerodynamic drag rises sharply as the aircraft passes the
transonic regime, requiring much greater engine power and more streamlined airframes.
Wings
A Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird supersonic reconnaissance aircraft
To keep drag low, wingspan must be limited, which also reduces the aerodynamic efficiency
when flying slowly. Since a supersonic aircraft must take off and land at a relatively slow speed,
its aerodynamic design must be a compromise between the requirements for both ends of the
speed range.
Heating
Another problem is the heat generated by friction as the air flows over the aircraft. Most
subsonic designs use aluminium alloys such as Duralumin, which are cheap and easy to work but
lose their strength quickly at high temperatures. This limits maximum speed to around Mach 2.2.
Engines
Some early supersonic aircraft, including the first, relied on rocket power to provide the
necessary thrust, although rockets burn a lot of fuel and so flight times were short.
Early turbojets were more fuel-efficient but did not have enough thrust and some experimental
aircraft were fitted with both a turbojet for low-speed flight and a rocket engine for supersonic
flight. The invention of the afterburner, in which extra fuel is burned in the jet exhaust, made
these mixed powerplant types obsolete. The turbofan engine passes additional cold air around the
engine core, further increasing its fuel efficiency, and supersonic aircraft today are powered by
turbofans fitted with afterburners.
Another high-speed powerplant is the ramjet. This needs to be flying fairly fast before it will
work at all.
Supersonic flight
Supersonic aerodynamics is simpler than subsonic aerodynamics because the airsheets at
different points along the plane often cannot affect each other. Supersonic jets and rocket
vehicles require several times greater thrust to push through the extra aerodynamic
drag experienced within the transonic region (around Mach 0.85–1.2). At these speeds aerospace
engineers can gently guide air around the fuselage of the aircraft without producing new shock
waves, but any change in cross area farther down the vehicle leads to shock waves along the
body.
The sound source has now broken through the sound speed barrier, and is traveling at 1.4 times
the speed of sound, c (Mach 1.4). Because the source is moving faster than the sound waves it
creates, it actually leads the advancing wavefront. The sound source will pass by a stationary
observer before the observer actually hears the sound it creates.
Transonic flight

Transonic flow patterns on an airfoil showing flow patterns at and above critical Mach number
Airflow can speed up or slow down locally at different points over an aircraft. In the region
around Mach 1, some areas may experience supersonic flow while others are subsonic. This
regime is called transonic flight. As the aircraft speed changes, pressure waves will form or
move around. This can affect the trim, stability and controllability of the aircraft, and the
designer needs to ensure that these effects are taken into account at all speeds.
Hypersonic flight
Flight at speeds above about Mach 5 is often referred to as hypersonic. In this region the
problems of drag and heating are even more acute. It is difficult to make materials which can
stand the forces and temperatures generated by air resistance at these speeds, and hypersonic
flight for any significant length of time has not yet been achieved.
Sonic boom

The sound source is travelling at 1.4 times the speed of sound (Mach 1.4). Since the source is
moving faster than the sound waves it creates, it leads the advancing wavefront.

A sonic boom produced by an aircraft moving at M=2.92, calculated from the cone angle of 20
degrees. An observer hears nothing until the shock wave, on the edges of the cone, crosses their
location.

Mach cone angle

NASA data showing N-wave signature.

A sonic boom is the sound associated with the shock waves created whenever an object traveling
through the air travels faster than the speed of sound. Sonic booms generate significant amounts
of sound energy, sounding similar to an explosion or a thunderclap to the human ear. The crack
of a supersonic bullet passing overhead or the crack of a bullwhip are examples of a sonic boom
in miniature.[5]
Sonic booms due to large supersonic aircraft can be particularly loud and startling, tend to
awaken people, and may cause minor damage to some structures. They led to prohibition of
routine supersonic flight over land. Although they cannot be completely prevented, research
suggests that with careful shaping of the vehicle the nuisance due to them may be reduced to the
point that overland supersonic flight may become a practical option.
Supercruise
Supercruise is sustained supersonic flight of a supersonic aircraft with a useful cargo, passenger,
or weapons load performed efficiently, which typically precludes the use of highly
inefficient afterburners or "reheat". Many well known supersonic military aircraft not capable of
supercruise can only maintain Mach 1+ flight in short bursts, typically with afterburners. Aircraft
such as the SR-71 Blackbird are designed to cruise at supersonic speed with afterburners
enabled.
One of the best known examples of an aircraft capable of supercruise was Concorde. Due to its
long service as a commercial airliner, Concorde holds the record for the most time spent in
supercruise; more than all other aircraft combined.
Supersonic transport

The fuselage of Concorde had an extremely high fineness ratio.

A supersonic transport (SST) is a civil aircraft designed to transport passengers at speeds

greater than the speed of sound. The only supersonic civilian aircraft to see service were the
Soviet produced Tupolev Tu-144 which first flew in 1968 and last transported passengers in
1978, with NASA retiring it from any use in 1997; and the Franco-British roduced Concorde,
which first flew in 1969 and remained in service until 2003. Since 2003, there have been no
supersonic civilian aircraft in service.
A key feature of these designs is the ability to maintain supersonic cruise for long periods, so
low drag is essential to limit fuel consumption to a practical and economic level. As a
consequence, these airframes are highly streamlined and the wings have a very short span. The
requirement for low speeds when taking off and landing is met by using vortex lift: as the aircraft
slows, lift must be restored by raising the nose to increase the angle of attack of the wing. The
sharply swept leading edge causes the air to twist as it flows over the wing, speeding up the
airflow locally and maintaining lift.
 Other SST projects have included:
 France – Sud Aviation Super-Caravelle
 Russia-United States – Sukhoi-Gulfstream S-21
 Soviet Union – Tupolev Tu-244, Tupolev Tu-444
 United Kingdom – Bristol Type 223
 United States – Convair Model 58-9, Boeing 2707, Lockheed L-2000, Douglas 2229, SAI Quiet
Supersonic Transport, High Speed Civil Transport

Supersonic business jet

Aerion SBJ model

Supersonic business jets (SSBJ) are a proposed class of small supersonic aircraft. None have yet
flown.
Typically intended to transport about ten passengers, SSBJs are about the same size as traditional
subsonic business jets.
Projects for both large-scale and business jet (see lower) passenger supersonic and hypersonic
airliners (Aerion SBJ, Spike S-512, HyperMach SonicStar, Next Generation Supersonic
Transport, Tupolev Tu-444, Gulfstream X-54, LAPCAT, Reaction Engines LAPCAT A2, Zero
Emission Hyper Sonic Transport, SpaceLiner, etc.) were proposed and now are under
development.
Supersonic strategic bombers

Convair B-58A Hustler

XB-70 Valkyrie
Tupolev Tu-22M3

B-1B Lancer

Tupolev Tu-160
A strategic bomber must carry a large bomb load over long distances. Consequently, it is a large
aircraft typically with an empty weight exceeding 25,000 kg. Some have also been designed for
related roles such as strategic reconnaissance and anti-shipping strike.
Typically the aircraft will cruise subsonically for most of its flight to conserve fuel, before
accelerating to supersonic speed for its bombing run.[7]
Few supersonic strategic bombers have entered service. The earliest type, the Convair B-58
Hustler, first flew in 1956 and the most recent, the Rockwell B-1B Lancer, in 1983. Although
this and a few other types are still in service today, none remains in production.
Supersonic strategic reconnaissance
Some supersonic strategic bombers, such as the Sukhoi T-4 are also capable of the
reconnaissance role (although the Sukhoi remained a prototype).
The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird was specifically designed for the role, and was a larger
development of the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft which first flew in 1962.
Supersonic fighter/attack jets
Supersonic fighters and related aircraft are sometimes called fast jets. They make up the
overwhelming majority of supersonic aircraft and some, such as the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-
21, Lockheed F-104 Starfighter and Dassault Mirage III, have been produced in large numbers.
Many military supersonic fighters and similar aircraft of fourth- and fifth- generations are under
development in several countries, including Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Iran and
the United States.