Effects of long-term atmospheric variability on the width of a sonic-boom carpet produced by high-flying supersonic aircraft

Abstract

An estimate of statistical characteristics of the width of sonic-boom carpets as a function of the long-term variability of the atmosphere is presented. The study is restricted to a constant flight altitude of 15 km, winter and summer months (December, January, February, and June, July, August), and to the eastern Atlantic near the British coast. The results of ray tracing calculations show that the width of the sonic-boom carpet varies approximately between 70 and 250 km. The carpet tends to be wider in summer than in winter.