In
aeronautics,
transonic refers to the condition of flight in which a range of velocities of airflow exist surrounding and flowing past an air vehicle or an
airfoil that are concurrently below, at, and above the
speed of sound in the range of
Mach 0.8 to 1.0, i.e. 600–768 mph (965–1236 km/h) at sea level. This condition depends not only on the travel speed of the craft, but also on the temperature of the airflow in the vehicle's local environment. It is formally defined as the range of speeds between the
critical Mach number, when some parts of the airflow over an air vehicle or airfoil are
supersonic, and a higher speed, typically near Mach 1.2, when the vast majority of the airflow is supersonic. Between these speeds some of the airflow is supersonic, but a significant fraction is not.