Remarkable story yesterday from an ex RN TP who was tasked at BD to determine the effects of an F-86 Sabre going through Mach 1.0 without a cockpit canopy.
He flew several flights to gradually approach Mach 1.0 eventually becoming confident to accelerate through to supersonic in a steep dive.
The remarkable observation was that he could physically feel the effects of a shock wave pass slowly past his head. The Orenda powered Sabre remained controllable.
In some light conditions I have been able to see the shadows of shock waves dancing around on the wings of a Sabre. It sort of gets your attention.
This was during investigations into aileron hydraulic jack stalling which limited the amount of aileron one could apply supersonic. It's an offputting feeling to have the stick lock up as the jacks stall. It would have been too difficult to fit higher powered jacks so the limitation had to be accepted.
Would like to know if the Sabre pilots in combat in Korea found jack stalling to be a problem when chasing a target.?