Standing Normal Shockwave on a 757 wing

Clearly visible shock on the wing of a 757. Look for the vertical image distortions that seem to dance or move around

[bwalt]

The shockwave does increase drag but airlines make a trade between speed and drag. Some are starting to fly a few knots slower to save a few hundred dollars a flight. The faster the plane flies, the more flights it makes which means more tickets sold.

The wings are designed to minimize the effect of the shock so that its not a very big drag increase from flying faster.

[johnkevindizon]

wow that's so cool! so they do visibly exist.. thanks for the vid

[edwardnorton]

I have never seen them this clear before. I think this may be a photoshop project or maybe the airplane is doing something illegal. These shockwaves are really huge and are very easy to see. All of the shock waves that I have seen were much harder to see but still could be seen. Usually, you only see a distortion around the part lines (in case of the wing) or the outer surfaces of the where engine nacelle meet the horizon in your field of view.

[jimmy]

Also, the faster an aircraft flies, the sooner it gets to its destination. Although there is an associated drag penalty, sometimes this is offset by a shorter flight and actually reduces total fuel used

[LTF]

I too had some experience with airlines descending too fast, it hurts my head really bad, the pressure difference varies too fast. only a few airlines do this. I never had a chance to see shock waves, i heard you can only notice it on bright sunny days..

[gillesquain]

@Falleromayor: Nope, Critical Mach Number has been reached. In fact, this is reached from the moment supersonic stuff is happening over the A/C's wing. You are confusing the Drag-Inversion Mach Number, ie the speed at which the Drag Coefficient skyrockets (right ;-)

[LTF]

wouldn''t shock wave give you a lot of drag, shouldn't you go slower than that to avoid shock waves? Like instead of Mach 0.85 go mach 0.7 or 0.6? Any aerodynamic experts?

[TheKLMfokker]

What happens with the "center of pressure" of an airfoil or rotorblade. When it passes through a normal shockwave? Does it move in any direction (towards trailing or leading edge) or does it not move at all.