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riddler

I wonder ...

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I wonder if anyone has done a sport jump at supersonic speed? I wonder if it could be done?

I'm sure there have been quite a few military and test pilots that have ejected at supersonic. I know that Kittinger broke the sound barrier during his jump. Fournier will too when he finally gets off the ground.

But I wonder how easy it would be to jump out of an aircraft that is flying supersonic? Could the plane fly supersonic with a door open? Could you even get out? If you could get out, would the wind sheer break your body?

I wonder ...
Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

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Yeah, I was kind of thinking a side door would be a bad idea - not only for the jumper, but also the plane to open one at supersonic.

The door would probably be better directly behind the aircraft. Is there a supersonic tailgate aircraft? I don't think I know of one, but I'm not an expert on airplanes.
Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

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In his book,

Chuck Yeager likens punching out supersonic to...:o

"Committing suicide to keep from being killed in a plane crash!"

The Russians were the first to design a supersonic ejection system...

It had / has a rocket motor instead of an explosive charge...
A windscreen that automatically protects the pilots face...and an arm & leg restraint system that pulls the limbs into the seat.

Martian Baker redesigned theirs to match the performance.

...And no an aircraft would break up if the door
were opened to exit.

Supersonic aircraft are fabricated more from titanium than aluminum...
the 'Reynolds wrap' construction would melt before long.

The F 22 has even more exotic materials than Ti.
But that's classified...

I could tell ya, but.... ;)










~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

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I could tell ya, but....



No need - I used to work for Lockheed Martin ;)

Chuck Yeager's autobiography - good reading.

I kind of suspect the same thing - if a door opened at supersonic, the aircraft would most likely break up. Any other opinions?

Just idle speculation ...
Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

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Any other opinions?



One of the other engineers here was a Physics major, and is into warplanes in a big way. When I first started jumping, I asked him if it would be possible to skydive out of an F-15 at cruising speed. He told me it would be similar to winding my 944T up to 100-110 mph on the Interstate, then throwing a milkshake out through the sunroof......wham and splatter. ;)


&
"When in doubt I whip it out,
I got me a rock-and-roll band.
It's a free-for-all."

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