Man to try to break sound barrier with his body

AuntPeggy

AuntPeggy

Final Approach
PoA Supporter
Joined
May 23, 2006
Messages
8,480
Location
Oklahoma
Display Name
Display name:
Namaste
Either Felix Baumgartner will break the sound barrier, or the sound barrier will break Felix Baumgartner. The outcome is not assured.
The Red Bull Stratos project aims to find out. According to Red Bull publicists, “sometime” in 2010 Baumgartner will step out of a capsule beneath a helium-filled balloon at 120,000 feet. According to unofficial sources, it will happen this summer above New Mexico.
Click to expand...
http://www.aopa.org/members/files/pilot/epilot/2010/100709epilot.html?WT.mc_id=100709epilot

Someone explained terminal velocity to me and it seems they stated that you reach a certain speed (below the sound barrier) and then maintain that speed.

I'm confused.
 
terminal velocity is determined by things like air density and the air is pretty darn thin up there. the speed of sound is also lower as it is based on temperature and it is pretty darn cold at 120,000 feet.

But I thought that Joe Kittinger broke the sound barrier in free fall back in the 60s when he set the current free fall record.
 
Too true. Kittinger did it already, and didn't care a whit about the record. He was there to test a stabilization system (a droge parachute) to stabilize pilots who bailed out of high altitude aircraft.

I saw him speak at Oshkosh. What an American. I think he's still barnstorming down in Florida somewhere.
 
It's all sort of silly... even Kittinger did not "break the sound barrier", in other words, exceed about 760 mph (which is the speed of sound at sea level in standard temps).

On a later jump, he supposedly reached a velocity of about 700 mph, but he never exceeded the speed that sound travels at sea level... which really has no relevance to the speed of a falling body at altitudes near 100,000 MSL.

He probably exceeded the speed that sound travels in much, much thinner air (sound travels more efficiently in denser mediums), such as the air at 100,000 feet, but because of the extremely low density, there was no trans-sonic buffeting, sonic boom, etc.

Suffice it to say that Kittinger traveled faster, without any vehicle, than any man had ever done before... although even that was not the purpose of the Excelsior project.

Maybe Baumgartner will fall faster, but all this talk about "breaking the sound barrier", and breathless "nobody knows what will happen" crap is just hype.
 
rottydaddy said:
On a later jump, he supposedly reached a velocity of about 700 mph, but he never exceeded the speed that sound travels at sea level...
Click to expand...

He exceeded the speed of sound at the altitude through which he was falling, which is to me highly relevant, since most of the aerodynamic properties surrounding the subsonic to supersonic transition were operant.
 
"Then"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81gn2oLeC_U

"now"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VdSeDqU3EY


Quote from Kittinger

"An hour and thirty-one minutes after launch, my pressure altimeter halts at 103,300 feet. At ground control the radar altimeters also have stopped-on readings of 102,800 feet, the figure that we later agree upon as the more reliable. It is 7 o'clock in the morning, and I have reached float altitude …. Though my stabilization chute opens at 96,000 feet, I accelerate for 6,000 feet more before hitting a peak of 614 miles an hour, nine-tenths the speed of sound at my altitude."

Kittinger, Joseph W, Jr. "The Long, Lonely Leap." National Geographic. December 1960: 854-873.

49319805.jpg
 
I guy from my home town thinks he did it one night when his girl-friend's husband came back in town a day early.
 
Joe is one of the greatest pilot hero's ever. I traded email with him once and he was very nice and quite inspiring.
 
I was fortunate to meet him briefly at Sun n' Fun a few years back when he was selling biplane rides. What a life story he has!

wby0nder said:
Joe is one of the greatest pilot hero's ever. I traded email with him once and he was very nice and quite inspiring.
Click to expand...
 
steingar said:
He exceeded the speed of sound at the altitude through which he was falling, which is to me highly relevant, since most of the aerodynamic properties surrounding the subsonic to supersonic transition were operant.
Click to expand...
Actually most of those issues are a non-issue when the air is extremely thin and your only goal is to fall not fly.
 
Doggtyred said:
Terminal velocity below 10,000 feet has the same true airspeed as the terminal velocity above 100,000 feet.

Indicated airspeed is another matter entirely.
Click to expand...

I think you have that flipped around.

Terminal velocity below 10k is not 614mph.
 
EdFred said:
I think you have that flipped around.

Terminal velocity below 10k is not 614mph.
Click to expand...

ditto. And FWIW, the TAS at 120,000 MSL is north of 1800 mph based on a 120 mph IAS. Of course he won't reach anywhere near that velocity since he would need almost a minute's worth of free fall in a vacuum to accelerate and by then he would have lost 75,000 ft where his terminal TAS would be a little over 300 mph.
 
I believe the point of the exercise is to jump from a higher altitude than Kittinger did. The speed is beside the point. I could be wrong, but I don't think they're doing it to set a hurtling human speed record.
 
flyersfan31 said:
I believe the point of the exercise is to jump from a higher altitude than Kittinger did. The speed is beside the point. I could be wrong, but I don't think they're doing it to set a hurtling human speed record.
Click to expand...
I thought it was both, that's certainly the impression I got from the website.
 
Back on

http://www.redbullstratos.com/

OFFICIAL STATEMENT ON CLOSING OF LEGAL CASE

June 30, 2011

The legal action filed by Daniel Hogan and PerDan, LLC in the Superior Court for the State of California for the Country of Los Angeles entitled Per Dan, LLC, et al. v. Red Bull GmbH, et al., Case No. BC 436456 has been mutually resolved by the parties out of court and the lawsuit has been dismissed.
 
I am quite torn. I wish the Red Bull guy luck, and hope he succeeds. But Kittinger is such a hero, I hate to see his record broken ever. I was privileged to meet him at Oshkosh (he even signed my prototype origami meatbomb) and will always be glad I did.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top