What is the difference between supersonic flight and subsonic flight? The terms “supersonic” and “subsonic” are used to describe the speed of travel in Mach units where “supersonic” is used for speed between Mach 1 and 5 while “subsonic” is for speed less than Mach 1 (Smith, 2009, par.2)When a plane flies at supersonic speed, it flies faster than sound. The main difference in a supersonic aircraft is the design principle. The most important thing to consider when building a supersonic plane is airflow: "Managing that airflow is especially problematic when a plane approaches the speed of sound... The faster the plane travels, the more difficult it is pushing the plane through the air and the more fuel the plane's engines need to travel a certain distance” (Dillow, 2014) The Concorde is an example of a supersonic plane with a thin body and delta-shaped wings . Figure 1: Concept of Concorde and TU-144. (TU-144, n.d.)Before delving into this issue, it is important to have an overview of the history of supersonic flight. Supersonic transport or SST was developed soon after World War II . In the 1950s there were four nations competing in this new industry: France, Great Britain, America and the Soviet Union. However, there were only 3 parties in this competition as Great Britain and France agreed on a joint development program ( Drake & Purvis, 2001, p.3). From the collaboration between France and Great Britain was born the legendary Concorde, the name that everyone always mentions when talking about supersonic transport. In the Far East, the Soviet Union worked on a Concorde-like design, called the TU-144. In 1968, the TU-144 made its first flight on December 31, a year before Concorde. Meanwhile in the United States...... middle of paper ......92.stmP., LL (2011). Cure for Sonic Boom Disorder: Extreme Plane Makeover. Discover, 32(8), 40.Smith, H. (2009, May 19). What is supersonic flight?. NASA. Retrieved April 19, 2014, from http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/what-is-supersonic-flight-58.html#.U1M0IFcnGSoSupersonic dream. (2007). PBS. Retrieved April 19, 2014, from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/education/activities/3203_concorde.html Supersonic flight ban announced. (1973, March 27). Spokane Daily News, p. 2.The Concorde 10 years after the end of the future: a history in images. (2013, October 24). Skift. Retrieved April 19, 2014, from http://skift.com/2013/10/24/the-concorde-10-years-after-the-future-ended/Tu-144 Charger and Concorde. (n.d.). globalsecurity.org. Retrieved April 19, 2014, from http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/images/tu-144-concord-line1.gif