On May 18, 1953, Jacqueline Cochran became the first woman to fly faster than the speed of sound and, at the time of her death in 1980, she held more speed, altitude, and distance records than any other male or female pilot in aviation history. Included in...
The plane that broke the sound barrier can be an object on your subsonic desk Source: Soon You'll Be Able to 3D Print Chuck Yeager's Supersonic X-1 The Smithsonian's 3D printing project is an effort to scan the museum's vast collection and make it printable at home. Now, one of the...
  Chuck Yeager Courtesy U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission www.centennialofflight.gov Reproduced by Permission. For many people, Chuck Yeager is a true hero in the strictest definition of the word. Throughout his career, Yeager displayed distinguished courage and performed several extraordinarily brave deeds, although he only considered such acts as following his duty. Many people...
JTNDc2NyaXB0JTIwaGVpZ2h0JTNEJTIyNjAzcHglMjIlMjB3aWR0aCUzRCUyMjEwNzJweCUyMiUyMHNyYyUzRCUyMmh0dHAlM0ElMkYlMkZwbGF5ZXIub295YWxhLmNvbSUyRmlmcmFtZS5qcyUyM3BiaWQlM0RabVZrT1RabFpEQmlOemsxT1dSa01EUmpObVpqTXpRMCUyNmVjJTNEeGxaMkpuYURwSU5EUkZQcmdmVUlVZ2NZT2d5TFJIUXElMjIlM0UlM0MlMkZzY3JpcHQlM0U= A segment from a U.S. Air Force film follows a single flight by then-Major Charles “Chuck” Yeager. Before Yeager and Air Force test pilots Albert Boyd and H.E. “Tom” Collins put the MiG-15 through its paces, technicians inspected it for signs of sabotage and determined it was safe. The...
During the early days of testing for the legendary SR-71 Blackbird there were some harrowing mishaps, the details of which have rarely come to light. On January 25, 1966, test pilot Bill Weaver and Lockheed flight test reconnaissance and navigation systems specialist Jim Zwayer experienced their plane vanishing around them...
https://youtu.be/e32CPRXEZ7s The Lockheed NF-104A was an American mixed power, high-performance, supersonic aerospace trainer that served as a low-cost astronaut training vehicle for the X-15 and projected X-20 Dyna-Soar programs. The third NF-104A (USAF 56-0762) was delivered to...
The space agency is celebrating 70 years of aircraft testing by releasing a trove of old videos showing X-planes, lunar landers, and various space shuttles. Aviation geeks rejoice: There’s a whole new way to waste time. NASA is marking 70 years of advanced aircraft testing by releasing a trove of old...
On October 14, 1947, US Air Force Capt. Chuck Yeager flew a Bell X-1 experimental plane at Mach 1 some 40,000 feet over the Mojave Desert, becoming the first human to travel faster than the speed of sound. The journey to that flight started in...
Chuck Yeager in 1948. The previous year, he became the first pilot to break the sound barrier when he reached a speed of 700 miles per hour in a Bell Aircraft X-1.Credit...Associated Press
26 Mar 1951 at Edwards Air Force Base - Filming began on the lakebed for RKO’s film Jet Pilot, starring John Wayne and Janet Leigh. As shown in this photo, an XF-92A was painted to simulate a “MiG-23.” Most of aerial stunt scenes were anonymously flown by Chuck Yeager. (Edwards History Office file photo)
26 Mar 1951 at Edwards Air Force Base - Filming began on the lakebed for RKO’s film Jet Pilot, starring John Wayne and Janet Leigh. As shown in this photo, an XF-92A was painted to simulate a “MiG-23.” Most of aerial stunt scenes were anonymously flown by Chuck Yeager....