Aviação supersônica: sua história no meio militar e comercial

Abstract

The objective of this work is to approach the history of supersonic aviation and show its historical development, since its advent, during World War II, presenting its advance in military aviation, and its insertion in the commercial environment. In the first part, the speed of sound is conceptualized, and its behavior in different media and the effects of exceeding that speed are described. These studies began in the late 1930s, where the effects, consequences and behavior of an aircraft when approaching speeds as high as that of sound were investigated. It was observed, in tests, that the aircraft of the time were not able to reach the speed of sound, due to its powertrain and aerodynamics. In the middle of the World War II, European and American scientists dedicated their time and efforts to carry out studies and experiments in order to design aircraft capable of reaching the speed of sound, and even surpassing it. Studies continued over the next few years, and experimental jets reached twice the speed of sound. This technology took the first steps to be implemented in military jets, both American, European and Soviet, in bombers, supersonic reconnaissance aircraft, and commercial aviation. England, in partnership with France, produced the first commercial supersonic aircraft in history: The Concorde. The Soviets also designed a supersonic plane similar to the European ones, dubbed the Tupolev Tu-144. The American projects were very ambitious and costly, and numerous problems led to their cancellation. The high cost of maintaining a commercial aircraft with so many flight restrictions and aeronautical accidents meant that supersonic jets were retired in 2003. In the ensuing years, companies started to show their ideas to bring back supersonic commercial aviation in a way more accessible to the general public, both for the commercial environment and for the executive.