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A comment on When the DC-8 Went Supersonic (2011).

Re:When the DC-8 Went Supersonic (2011) by throwanem on Friday October 20, 2017 @12:25PM (#15517022)
What surprised me the most was that they did it on purpose!
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Re:When the DC-8 Went Supersonic (2011) by mirimir on Friday October 20, 2017 @12:51PM (#15517228)
Two reasons are pretty clear from the article. It was fun. And it could be sold to management as safety PR.
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Re:When the DC-8 Went Supersonic (2011) by cratermoon on Friday October 20, 2017 @02:03PM (#15517857)
The engineering data alone from the flight was worth the risk. What they measured and learned during the flight probably gave the aircraft designers at Douglas priceless insights.
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Re:When the DC-8 Went Supersonic (2011) by haltingthoughts on Friday October 20, 2017 @06:08PM (#15519438)
Modern aircraft undergo testing near the speed of sound to find issues as well. https://youtu.be/rpP7hsuVuoE?t=1155
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Re:When the DC-8 Went Supersonic (2011) by giarc on Friday October 20, 2017 @02:11PM (#15517923)
Not only safety but so they could say they beat Boeing.
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