- Location
- Shrewsbury, Shropshire
There have been a couple of instances recently when RAF planes have gone supersonic over land due to an "emergency" and from the ground you get this huge double boom which can be felt as much as heard.What exactly do you mean by 'experienced'? We get a lot of French military aircraft practising locally in the Limousin. Shortly before France announced involvement in Libya we were shaken by an almighty bang, a real thunderclap, and I spotted this aircraft going like the proverbial bat. Obviously the culprit. My understanding is that the pilot would not have endured the noise having left it far behind the aircraft. Nevertheless I don't see that the noise itself was dangerous.
As far as I am aware, pilots are not allowed to go supersonic over UK landspace so yes, it would be a very rare experience and I hope they don't make a habit of it in France!
I'm sure you are correct that the pilots don't experience anything and I'm sure that Baumgartner didn't either. What I was getting at is that the journalist's claim that a sonic boom is just a doubling of the ordinary noise is a somewhat inaccurate description.