Cockpit Interactive Sonic Boom Display Avionics (CISBoomDA)

Cockpit Interactive Sonic Boom Display

Avionics (CISBoomDA)

CISBoomDA is a real-time, interactive sonic boom display that enables pilots to control the location and intensity of sonic booms. The system can be integrated into any cockpit or flight control room to help pilots place loud booms in specific locations away from populated areas, ensure that quiet booms are produced in these areas, or prevent sonic booms from occurring at all. This patented technology processes vehicle and flight parameters as well as data regarding current atmospheric conditions. The prediction data are integrated with a local-area moving-map display that is capable of displaying in real time the aircraft's current sonic boom footprint, enabling pilots to make necessary flight adjustments to control them.

Work to date: This proven technology has been operating in Armstrong control rooms and simulators since 2000 and has aided several sonic boom research projects.

Looking ahead: The research team is preparing an F/A-18 plane for flight testing. The two-seat aircraft will allow 'guest pilots' and/or

passengers from the FAA and avionics firms to observe the CISBoomDa technology in action. Also in development is a portable simulation device that could be used to demonstrate the technology to avionics firms. A solicitation for work on this display was posted in mid 2014 on the NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System (NSPIRES) website.

Benefits

 Enables overland supersonic travel:

Because pilots can control the location and intensity of sonic booms, CISBoomDA will allow future-generation supersonic aircraft to fly over land.

 Reduces noise pollution: CISBoomDA allows for appropriate placement of booms, minimizing their effects on the ground.

 Supersonic Flight Research

Supersonic flight over land is currently severely restricted because sonic booms created by shock waves disturb people on the ground and can damage private property. Since the maximum loudness of a sonic boom is not specifically defined by the current Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulation, innovators at NASA have been researching ways to identify a loudness level that is acceptable to both the FAA and the public and to reduce the noise created by supersonic aircraft. Using cutting-edge testing that builds on previous supersonic research, NASA is exploring low-boom aircraft designs and other strategies that show promise for reducing sonic boom levels.

A variety of factors, from the shape and position of aircraft components to the propulsion system's characteristics, determine the make-up of a supersonic aircraft's sonic boom.