QSF18
The Quiet Supersonic Flights 2018 (QSF18) activity was designed to develop tools and methods for demonstration of overland supersonic flight with an acceptable sonic boom, and collect a large dataset of responses from a representative sample of the population.
MEDIA POC
Matt Kamlet
social media
@NASAAero
QSF18 Info Centers
Space Center Houston
QSF18 Info Centers
Houston McGuire-Dent Recreation Center, Galveston
Introduction
QSF18: An Intro
This presentation provides the basic facts on the Quiet Supersonic Flights 2018 (QSF18) research campaign scheduled for November 2018 over Galveston, Texas.
This image of the horizon was seen from the cockpit of NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center’s F/A-18 research aircraft during a flight in support of the Quiet Supersonic Flights 2018 research series, or QSF18. NASA test pilots performed the quiet supersonic dive maneuver off the coast of Galveston, Texas, creating a quieter version of the sonic boom to obtain recruited community survey feedback data. The test pilot climbed to around 50,000 feet, followed by a supersonic, inverted dive. This maneuver creates sonic boom shockwaves in such a way that they are quieter in a specific area. Meanwhile, NASA researchers match community feedback to the sound levels of the flights, using an electronic survey and microphone monitor stations on the ground. This is preparing NASA for community response models for the future X-59 QueSST.
NASA / Carla Thomas
NASA will fly its supersonic F/A-18 jet over the Gulf of Mexico while researchers measure public response to the aircraft’s noise in and around the coastal city of Galveston, Texas. The F/A-18 pilot will fly a unique diving maneuver over the Gulf of Mexico that will result in the possibility of Galveston area residents hearing a quiet sonic “thump” instead of the loud and sometimes disruptive sonic booms historically associated with supersonic flight. NASA is recruiting via mail some 500 residents to participate in the two-week-long research activity. Participants will be asked to fill out a brief online survey several times each day about their impressions of any noise they hear from the F/A-18 jet. Residents who participate for the full duration will be paid $50. The city of Galveston was selected because its coastal location enables the F/A-18 to fly a supersonic maneuver that sends a quieter sonic “thump” toward Galveston and confines louder sonic booms to the open water of the Gulf of Mexico. NASA’s nearby facilities at Ellington Field also will enable more efficient aircraft operations. NASA researchers will place sound-measuring equipment in and around Galveston to supplement the public response data. Locations will be selected based on research needs and approval from local authorities. To ensure public safety and awareness, NASA is cooperating with local, state and federal authorities and conducting an extensive public outreach initiative in support of this research. Results from this activity in Galveston will inform research methods for future community response surveys that will use NASA’s X-59 Quiet Supersonic Technology aircraft. NASA’s Low-Boom Flight Demonstration, which includes QSF18, is a comprehensive, scientifically-driven effort to provide U.S. and international regulators with statistically valid data that could result in new rules that allow commercial supersonic flight over land.
NASA / Lauren Hughes
Quesst Mission
NASA's aeronautical innovators are leading a government-industry team to collect data that could make supersonic flight over land possible, dramatically reducing travel time in the United States or anywhere in the world.
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