Directions:

The X-15 had a very unique way of starting its flights. It was mounted on the belly of a B-52 and flown to an altitude of 45,000 feet, where it was launched at a speed of 500 miles per hour. A rocket in the X-15 would then provide thrust for roughly 120 more seconds, and then the X-15 would glide over 200 miles back to a runway. Navy Test Pilot, A. Scott Crossfield, was the first to fly the X-15.

Many test pilots flew the X-15 during the years it was tested, but two pilots broke world records during their flights. On August 22, 1963, NASA test pilot, Joseph A. Walker, flew the X-15 to an unofficial world altitude record of 354,200 feet. On October 3, 1967, Major William Knight, an Air Force Test Pilot, set the world speed record for winged aircraft. He flew 4,520 miles per hour. One year later, after 199 test flights, the X-15 was retired on October 24, 1968.

Question 1:

The world altitude record, set by Test Pilot Walker, was 354,200 feet. What was his altitude in miles?

Question 2:

The flight plan for Test Pilot Walker's record-breaking flight called for him to point the nose almost straight up and provide maximum rocket thrust after he was launched from the B-52. If the B-52 launched the X-15 at an altitude of 45,000 feet, how many feet up did he fly to break the altitude record?

Question 3:

How many miles upward did he fly to break the altitude record?

He gained almost 90% (that is, almost all!) of his total altitude after he was launched, almost straight up, from the B-52 - in only 120 seconds! How would you like to have gone along for that ride?

Question 4:

Can you think of a town that is between 58 and 67 miles away from your hometown? You can check the distance on a map. Does that town seem far away? Imagine going that distance, but going straight up! It might be fun to draw a picture of Test Pilot Walker's record-breaking flight!

Question 5:

Test Pilot Major Knight had an equally exciting flight when he broke the world speed record! The old speed record was 4,486 miles per hour. By how many miles per hour did Major Knight beat the old record?

Question 6:

The speed limit on most United States highways is 65 miles per hour. How many times faster did Major Knight fly than your car can legally go on the highway?

Question 7:

The ``speed of sound'' is a measure of how fast sounds travel through the air. The ``speed of sound'' on earth, when the air temperature is 59 degrees, is 762 miles per hour. So, when a friend calls to you from across the schoolyard, the sound comes out of his/her mouth and enters your ears at 762 miles per hour!

The speed of sound changes as altitude and air temperature change. The speed of sound at the altitude at which Major Knight made his record-breaking flight was 87 miles per hour slower than on the ground. What was the speed of sound at Major Knight'9s altitude?

Question 8:

Now that you know the speed of sound at Major Knight'9s altitude can you calculate the Mach number of the record-breaking flight?

Question 9:

If Major Knight was flying Mach 6.7, how many times faster than the speed of sound was he flying?

Exercise 2

Directions:

Based on what you learned in Exercise 1, Mach 1 would be one times the speed of sound. At sea level this is roughly 762 miles per hour.

Have you ever traveled at Mach 1?

Probably not! The fastest commercial jet airplanes in the United States generally fly below 500 miles per hour. However, there is a European airliner built by the French, the Concorde, that does fly just above Mach 1. If you have flown the Concorde, say from Paris to New York, then you are one of a fairly small group of people that has flown faster than the speed of sound!

Most of us have had to be content with driving, riding or flying at less than Mach 1. To see just how far below Mach 1 we generally travel, answer the following questions.

Remember that the speed of sound changes for two reasons. It changes according to altitude and the environmental condition of the air. You will need the following table for your calculations:

Altitude Range	Air Environmental Conditions	Speed of Sound
sea level	59 degrees F	762 miles per hour
20,000 - 30,000 feet	-30 degrees F	693 miles per hour
top of the atmosphere	-67 degrees F	662 miles per hour
350,000 - 360,000 feet		675 miles per hour
outer space	there is no air!	0

Question 1:

In the United States the maximum speed limit on a freeway is 65 miles per hour. Assume that this freeway runs right along the ocean and it is a cool day. At what Mach number are you driving if you are driving at the speed limit?

Question 2:

Say that you are a very accomplished mountain climber and you have decided to climb Mount Everest, the highest mountain on earth. It takes you many days, but finally you are standing at ``the top of the world''! While you are standing there, trying to keep warm in -30 degree F weather, you see an F-14 flying at the same altitude you are standing! As she whizzes past you, the pilot gives you a ``thumbs up'' to congratulate you for making it to the top. If the pilot was flying at Mach 1, use the table above to determine how many miles per hour she was flying. Hint: Mt. Everest is 29,028 feet tall.

Question 3:

How many miles per hour slower did the pilot of the F-14 have to go to achieve Mach 1 at the altitude of Mt. Everest, than you would have to go at sea level?

Question 4:

In Exercise 1, Test Pilot Joseph Walker, broke a speed record in the X-15 at an altitude of 354,200 feet. If you were still standing on Mr. Everest, how many feet higher would Test Pilot Crossfield have been than you? How many miles would that be?

If you were to travel the same number of miles by land from your hometown, where would you be? (Use a map to help you determine your answer.)

Question 5:

The Space Shuttle flies at approximately 3,111 miles per hour right before it escapes from our atmosphere and enters outer space. What Mach number is this?

A tricky question: If the Space Shuttle flies 17,000 miles per hour in space, what is its Mach number? (Hint: Remember that the Mach number is a representation of the speed of sound. Think carefully about what affects the speed of sound!)

Question 6:

A world class marathon runner can easily run at 15 miles per hour. What mach number is this? Assume he/she is running on the beach.

If he/she were running on the top of Mt. Everest, how much slower could they run to stay at Mach .02?