First Supersonic Aircraft, Bell X-1, 1947
The world's first supersonic aircraft, the Bell X-1, piloted by Charles "Chuck" Yeager, flew faster than the speed of sound on October 14th, 1947. The X-1 was carried into the air under a converted B-29 bomber, and released at an altitude of 6800 meters over Muroc, California. The X-1 was powered by a four-chamber XLR-11 rocket engine that generated kilonewtons of thrust. This pushed the aircraft to a speed of 1078 km/h at an altitude of 12,800 meters - equivalent to times the speed of sound. Yeager unofficially named to aircraft "Glamorous Glennis," after his wife. It is now displayed at the Smithsonian.
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