BOC: Me 262, Prince of turbojets

[Michael R Godwin]

On Fri, 23 Feb 2001, Brian Halligan wrote:
> Mutke said he was cruising at 40,000 feet when he heard of his friend's
> trouble and went into a dive. As his jet accelerated, he said he felt his
> plane ``buffeting'' -- a known phenomenon of vibration before reaching the
> speed of sound.

My understanding is that unless the speed has been attained in level
flight, it would not be 'recognised' as a genuine record. And don't they
have to make two runs, one into the wind and one with the wind following?

Fascinating stuff, nevertheless.

Incidentally, there is a film called The Sound Barrier (1952) directed by
David Lean (of Lawrence of Arabia fame) which deals with all those issues
to do with bits of the plane dropping off as it approaches Mach 1.

- Mike Godwin