Bell X-1 History
On October 14, 1947, USAF pilot Captain Chuck Yeager became the first man to break the sound barrier in a Bell X-1 at Edwards Air Force Base. He had named his aircraft "Glamorous Glennis", after his wife. The .50 caliber bullet shape of the fuselage, strong thin wing sections, and an adjustable horizontal stabilizer were engineering developments used in the design of the X-1. In order to reach its testing altitude, the X-1 was air-launched from the bomb bay of a Boeing B-29 Super Fortress, and then used its four-chambered rocket engine to climb to 13000 meters (43000 feet).
Please send any comments to:
Curator:
Dave Mazza
Responsible Official:
Tom Benson