Chuck Yeager with the Bell X-1, First Flight Beyond Speed of Sound Photo
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On 14 October 1947, Captain Charles E. 'Chuck' Yeager became the first human to travel faster than the speed of sound. The youthful Air Force test pilot streaked above Rogers Dry Lake at Muroc Army Air Field (now Edwards AFB, CA), flying at a speed of Mach 1.06 (700 mph), making the first sonic boom ever heard. Facing unknown forces, the Bell X-1 rocket research plane was stressed for 18g airloads, making it probably the strongest airframe in the world at that time.
"Glamorous Glennis", the Bell X-1, can be seen today at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum in Washinton, DC.
