On October 14, 1947, U.S. Army test pilot Chuck Yeager (1923-2020) became the first human to fly faster than the speed of sound.
Yeager’s historic feat was accomplished with the X-1, a top-secret experimental aircraft built by the Bell Aircraft Company. The purpose of the X-1 was to test the ability of fixed-wing aircraft and their human pilots to withstand the intense stresses caused by supersonic flight.
Mr. Yeager’s feat of breaking the sound barrier took place on Rogers Dry Lake in Southern California. The X-1 was carried to an altitude of 25,000 feet (7,600 meters) by a B-29 carrier. After leaving the vehicle, Yeager independently piloted the X-1 to 40,000 feet (12,000 meters). The speed of sound at this altitude is estimated to be 662 miles per hour, making Jaeger and the X-1 the first humans to exceed this speed and break the sound barrier.
Yeager’s accomplishments were not publicly known until the following year, in June 1948. After flying the X-1, Yeager continued his test flying career. Another notable achievement for Yeager was that on December 12, 1953, a test pilot set a world speed record of 1,650 miles per hour in an X-1A rocket plane.
Chuck Yeager was featured in the 1979 book the right thing Written by Tom Wolfe. In the 1983 film adaptation of the book of the same name, Yeager was played by Sam Shepard. In 1985, Yeager was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. His daughter confirmed his death on December 7, 2020.
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