Hypersonic aircraft are planes that travel at the speed ranging between Mach 5-10. Mach 1 is the speed of sound. Hypersonic planes travel at more than 5 times the speed of sound hence the name Mach 5. When the energy flow is higher, the hypersonic flow of the aircraft is at the maximum. Ultimately, if you wanna travel at rocket speeds, this aircraft will be the perfect fit. But make sure to consider the heat loads while dealing with this aircraft.
The aerodynamics behind hypersonic aircrafts
At the stagnation point( a point where local velocity is zero), of the air around a body, shock waves are formed. These shock waves can lift the aircraft and subsequently combat the drag ( wanna know more about drag, read about lift and drag in aerodynamics to find out). Due to the shockwaves at high temperatures, the air becomes thermally active. Since hypersonic aircraft fly at higher altitudes, they tend to encounter low-density conditions. The design of the hypersonic aircraft must be in such a way considering all of this. The viscous interaction between the shock waves might produce a variable effect on the aerodynamic drag coefficient.
I have doubts about the ‘humans use only <5% of their brain’ whenever I come across something incredible. Hypersonic planes are certainly the ones that blew my mind right away. I had the same doubt when I wrote about the History Of Aviation.
Economics of hypersonic aircrafts
China and Russia are said to be in constant competition in creating hypersonic weapons. The two-main categories of hypersonic weapons include cruise missiles and hypersonic glide vehicles. These missiles travel at a speed five times the speed of sound. To compete with China and Russia in the production of hypersonic weapons, the US army is now developing them. India doesn’t take a stand, as the development process is also at the fullest here. North Korea claims that they have tested a missile. While Frace, Australia, and Japan, have also laid their hands in developing this technology. Read more about aerodynamics in general.
3,800 miles per hour! Can you believe that?
At hypersonic speed the air molecules surrounding the aircraft change. To be precise, they get ionized. This creates stress on the aircraft that tends to push it forward across the atmosphere. Unlike the usual missiles, hypersonic missiles do not follow an arch trajectory. They can be designed to hit a particular target by maneuvering on the way to hit the destination. They fly at 3,800 miles per hour which explains the term, ‘ hypersonics travel 5 times faster than sound’. Read more about the Supersonic Planes.
Conclusion
Hope this article made you wear your thinking caps and reading glasses. The era of inventory of life in the air is still in progress. Wanna know about the other types of aircraft? Dig in to find out(Types of aircraft). Hope you enjoyed this fun flight travel in the hypersonic aircraft. It’s time for landing! For more information on aviation and related stuff do check out our blog page at Criss Cross Tamizh. Until then, bye crewmate!