![]() (The end of a bullwhip moves faster than the speed of sound. As the plane accelerated to a speed of 700 mph (1,127 km/h), or Mach 1.06, controllers on the ground heard the first sonic boom. When the controls locked up, he successfully used the horizontal stabilizer to keep the plane stable at an altitude of 43,000 feet (13,000 meters). 14, 1947, Yeager and the X-1 were dropped from the B-29, and quickly accelerated away. Unable to close and latch the side door by hand, he utilized a broom handle at the suggestion of a fellow pilot. Knowing that he would never be allowed to fly, he traveled to a doctor off base and had them taped up. Two days before his historic flight, Yeager was thrown from a horse while riding with his wife and broke two ribs. ![]() Another pilot suggested using the horizontal stabilizer to correct the problem, and on-the-ground tests seemed to suggest the alternate method of control would work. He cut the engines, dumped the fuel, and landed safely in the desert. 94, Yeager lost the ability to control the plane's elevator, which was a problem because the shock waves caused the nose to pitch up and down. 86 Mach on the sixth flight, the X-1 began to experience turbulence from the shock wave formed by the compression of the air. (The speed of sound is about 758 mph or 1,220 km/h at sea level, and decreases with altitude.) 2 Mach moves at only two-tenths the speed of sound, while Mach 1 is equal to it. Mach is a unit of measuring the speed of sound in a given medium a plane traveling at. 29, 1947, with subsequent attempts increasing speed by two-hundredths of a Mach number. Yeager's first test launch of the Glamorous Glennis took place on Aug. It was there that Yeager was selected to be the first person to attempt to exceed the speed of sound. Albert Boyd, in charge of the test program for the Air Force, invited him to become a test pilot, and Yeager accepted, transferring to Muroc to enroll in the Flight Performance School. In 1945, he was assigned as a maintenance officer to the Flight Test Division at Wright Field, Ohio, flight-testing the planes. From there on, I was in the right place at the right time," he told Forbes. "With my visual acuity and understanding of mechanics, I was really a hell of a lot better than the cadets. ![]() The military required a college education for its pilots, but when they didn't get enough applicants for the cadet flier program in 1942, they dropped the requirements to a high school diploma. Flying looked pretty good to me," he told Forbes. "But I noticed that, as a mechanic, my hands were always greasy while the pilots' were clean - and they had good-looking girls on their arms. In a 2017 interview with Forbes, Yeager said he was a gifted mechanic who had never seen an airplane before he turned 18. Like many of his generation, Yeager enrolled in the military in 1941. Army Air Corps at the age of 18 and served in World War II, where he flew 64 combat missions. Charles Elwood "Chuck" Yeager enlisted as a private in the U.S. The man who would become the most famous test pilot in American history was born in West Virginia on Feb. Muroc Air Force Base - now known as Edwards Air Force Base - in the empty southern California desert provided an ideal spot for testing a variety of experimental vehicles, including the X-1. It does not store any personal data.The plane, nicknamed the "Glamorous Glennis" for Yeager's wife, slowly approached the sound barrier over the course of nine flights. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly.
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