Transonic

The Bell X-1, a plane built for transonic flight

Transonic means breaking the sound barrier by travelling faster than the speed of sound (1,236 kph or 768 mph).

The speed of flight is divided into four groups based on speed.

• Subsonic
• Transonic
• Supersonic
• Hypersonic

Transonic means going from subsonic to supersonic. Subsonic ends and supersonic begins at mach 1, so transonic goes from mach 0.8 to 1.2. When you are going through transonic speeds, drag increases and it is really hard to go any faster. This is the sound barrier.

Transonic Media

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  Aerodynamic condensation evidences of supersonic expansion fans around a transonic F/A-18

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  The Sears–Haack body presents a cross-sectional area variation that minimises wave drag.

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  Shock waves may appear as weak optical disturbances above airliners with supercritical wings

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  Transonic flow patterns on an airfoil showing flow patterns at and above critical Mach number

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  Streamlines for three airflow regimes (black lines) around a nondescript blunt body (blue).