Having spent 27 years living ON Edwards AFB, in Palmdale and the AV, the sonic booms never really bothered me. Startle … maybe. The USAF did use the SR-71, et al, to scare bad boys, though.
There is a small area of homes that were built adjacent to the departure end of runway 22 at Edwards in the 50’s. They were specially built and instrumented to test/measure the impact of the shock waves on the various kinds of structures. After that testing was completed, base personnel asked to live in them so the “P” area was instituted. The large P1 house on a knoll was used as a ‘party’ house available for rent for special affairs. They’re all still standing half a century + later.
Several people here APTLY point out that going supersonic – irregardless of the reduction in sonic boom overpressure wave – requires a lot of fuel. Further, the BASIC research on the pressure reduction theories was ALREADY DONE … 20 years ago. Northrop Grumman built the SuperSonic Boom Demo (SSBD) airplane out of a worn-out F-5 aggressor airframe in St Augustine. That DARPA / NASA / NAVY program airplane was flown against an unmodified F-5 right there at NASA Dryden (now Armstrong) on Edwards. The theory worked and the airplane is now at the Valiant Air Museum on the Titusville, FL airport. Why they’re now spending $247M more of our tax dollars to refine the idea is both wasteful AND ridiculous. This cost should be borne by the companies seeking to build such a ridiculous unneeded gas guzzling airplane so fat cats can save a few minutes of flight time.
As I have commented ad nauseam, one office at NASA Armstrong is paying to build this non-“green” airplane while another was trying to build an equally ridiculous $87M ($47M over run) X-57 “Maxwell” to ‘save’ the planet. After that expenditure, the project was abandoned due to immature technology recently. I guess they’re showcasing this airplane in ‘green’ status so the slow learners around us think it too will save the planet. It won’t.
It’s time to put these Government entities on a VERY LEAN MONETARY DIET !!! The X-57 and X-59 Programs have cost taxpayers a third of a BILLION dollars … for what? What’s on first? Who’s on second?