Sound barrierIn 1948, Herbert H. Hoover became the first civilian pilot to exceed the speed of sound when he flew a Bell X-1 research aircraft at Edwards AFB, California. Instead of making its own take-off, the X-1 was loaded under the bomb bay of a B29 mother ship which carried it aloft, then released it at 20,000 feet. He reached Mach 1.065. On landing, the aircraft nosewheel failed to extend, resulting in minor damage. Hoover was a test pilot working for NACA (the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics, the predecessor of today's NASA). A U.S. Air Force Captain, Chuck Yeager, was the first pilot to break the sound barrier and land safely a few months earlier, on 14 Oct 1947, also flying an X-1.Image: USAF Captain Chuck Yeager (left), and Herbert H. Hoover (right), |
