Shock waves and history in free fall
DOI: 10.1063/PT.3.2565
The lead-in paragraph to the interesting Quick Study on Felix Baumgartner’s free fall misstates history when it says that Baumgartner fell faster than anyone before him. In 1966 an SR-71 reconnaissance aircraft experienced an in-flight breakup while traveling faster than Mach 3. The event resulted in an involuntary free fall that in all probability began at a speed much greater than Mach 1. The pilot, Bill Weaver, survived his high-speed free fall; his reconnaissance system officer, Jim Zwayer, did not.
More about the authors
Alan Spero, (alanspero@earthlink.net) Thermal Storage Systems Inc, Ramona, California.
