Sonic boom weather analysis of the F-18 low boom dive maneuver Free

In support of community low boom test planning, a sonic boom analysis of ten years of weather data was conducted at multiple coastal regions for an F-18 conducting the NASA low boom dive maneuver. The low boom dive maneuver involves an inverted dive where the aircraft accelerates supersonically and then pulls out above 30,000 Ft. During the dive maneuver, the sonic booms arrive on both egg and crescent shaped isopemps. Due to the supersonic flight conditions and the propagation paths the boom from the earlier parts of the trajectory arrive before the later part of the flight path. The influence of the local meteorological conditions on this maneuver has a striking effect on the sonic boom footprints, including the shape and location of the focal zone and the extent of the low-amplitude sonic boom carpet region. The paper will describe the PCBoom sonic boom propagation results and interpretive techniques for assessing potential coastal sites for conducting dose-response testing using the F-18 dive maneuver.