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Transonic

In aeronautics, transonic (or transsonic) flight is flying at or near the speed of sound 343 meters per second (1,235 km/h; 1,125 ft/s; 767 mph; 667 kn, at sea level under average conditions), relative to the air through which the vehicle is traveling. A typical convention used is to define transonic flight as speeds in the range of Mach 0.72 to 1.0 (965–1,235 km/h (600–767 mph) at sea level). In aeronautics, transonic (or transsonic) flight is flying at or near the speed of sound 343 meters per second (1,235 km/h; 1,125 ft/s; 767 mph; 667 kn, at sea level under average conditions), relative to the air through which the vehicle is traveling. A typical convention used is to define transonic flight as speeds in the range of Mach 0.72 to 1.0 (965–1,235 km/h (600–767 mph) at sea level). This condition depends not only on the travel speed of the craft, but also on the temperature of the airflow in the vehicle's local environment. It is formally defined as the range of speeds between the critical Mach number, when some parts of the airflow over an air vehicle or airfoil are supersonic, and a higher speed, typically near Mach 1.2, when most of the airflow is supersonic. Between these speeds some of the airflow is supersonic, but a significant fraction is not. Most modern jet powered aircraft are engineered to operate at transonic air speeds. Transonic airspeeds see a rapid increase in drag from about Mach 0.8, and it is the fuel costs of the drag that typically limits the airspeed. Attempts to reduce wave drag can be seen on all high-speed aircraft. Most notable is the use of swept wings, but another common form is a wasp-waist fuselage as a side effect of the Whitcomb area rule.

[ "Aerodynamics", "Flow (psychology)", "Critical Mach number", "potential equation", "transonic compressor", "Euler–Tricomi equation", "Vapor cone" ]
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