RIP Charles Elwood Yeager was a United States Air Force officer, flying ace, and record-setting test pilot. In 1947, he became the first pilot in history confirmed to have exceeded the speed of sound in level flight. Yeager’s career began in World War II as a private in the United States Army Air Forces in 1941
97 years of history making
By: John Green - 9th December 2020 at 17:11
Have I misunderstood ? Col. Yeager was riding an air launched rocket aircraft not a jet when he went thru’ what’s popularly known as the ‘sound barrier’. John Derry rode a conventional jet aircraft on his successful attempt a year or so later.
By: Gin Ye Daur - 8th December 2020 at 19:45
Indeed, a very remarkable pilot and aviation icon, still continuing flying to a very advanced age, I don’t think that many 80 year+ pilots have broke the sound barrier, respect!
However, the first person to break the sound barrier could very well have been British, had the Americans not ‘borrowed’ (is stolen too strong?), the ideas from the Miles M.52 project! Strange that the X-1 bares an uncanny resemblance to the M.52 don’t you think?
December 7th, Hmmm… that date rings a bell too!
Blue skies Col. Yeager.
GYD
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December 8, 2020 at 5:58 pm