65 years since Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in the Bell X-1

[gary]

Felix Baumgartner's record of being the first human to break the sound
barrier without being in a vehicle is a reminder that today marks the
anniversary of when Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier in the
Bell X-1 rocket plane, which took place in the United States on
14th October, 1947.

Yeager's X-1 is on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
in Washington D.C.

Read more about Chuck Yeager here -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Yeager

Picture of Yeager posing with Glamorous Glennis, the Bell X-1 that
first broke the sound barrier, here -
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...uck_Yeager.jpg

[gary]

Associated Press reports that 89-year-old Yeager celebrated the anniversary by flying in the back-seat
of an F-15 Eagle which broke the sound barrier flying across the Mojave Desert.

Originally Posted by Copyright Associated Press

Asked by a young girl if he was scared during Sunday's flight, Yeager joked, "Yeah, I was scared to death."
But the legendary pilot said he continues to fly all the time and it was just another flight to him.

Story here -
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...397032bc28fdc1

[tempestgto64 (Mick)]

Gee already??? On ya Chuck!

[Deeno]

He really is something. Continues to be the all American hero!

Have seen the X-1............

[Larryp (Laurie)]

He was the most qualified pilot for the astronaut program, but ultimately wasn't considered because of his hillbilly way of speaking.

[Starcrazzy]

The movie "the right stuff" is what inspired me to be a pilot.. (Still am today)

[blink138 (Pat)]

i know it is history now and chucks name is there, but there was an amazing documentary on how the british were really light years ahead in jet engine technology (the germans were a lot further still) and were "forced" to give up by their own government......... it seems the americans have always had the big(gest) stick
i think it was frank whittle if i am not mistaken, anyhow he was very close and very confident of breaking the sound barrier
interesting!
pat

[MrB (Simon)]

Originally Posted by Starcrazzy

The movie "the right stuff" is what inspired me to be a pilot.. (Still am today)

Love that movie.
It even mentions my home-town(Rockingham), when John Glenn thanks the people of Perth and Rockingham for turning on all their lights.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articl...htm?site=perth
"It was only about 45 minutes from the Cape until we flew over Perth," says Glenn.

"To look down and be able to see the lights that the people from Perth had turned on, all the porch lights and the refinery, and I could see not only Perth but Rockingham next door very clearly."

My mum likes to tell the story of the night, she says the family covered their clothes line in sheets and shined as many lights as they could on it
Hmmmm, might have to hunt down the Blu-ray.

[gary]

.. and today in the US, where it is still the 15th October, it is the 15th anniversary
of when Wing Commander Andy Green, a British Royal Air Force pilot, became the
first person to break the sound barrier on land in 1997.

The record took place 50 years and 1 day after Yeager's first supersonic flight.

Green used a jet propelled vehicle called ThrustSSC and reached a speed of 1149 km/h.

You can read more about Andy Green here -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Green

and about ThrustSSC here -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ThrustSSC

Here is a short video showing ThrustSCC in action -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mgO1M3gyfI

[MrB (Simon)]

Very cool video Gary, I was not aware of the ThrustSSC, thanks

[lacad01 (Adam)]

Originally Posted by MrB

Love that movie.
It even mentions my home-town(Rockingham), when John Glenn thanks the people of Perth and Rockingham for turning on all their lights.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articl...htm?site=perth
"It was only about 45 minutes from the Cape until we flew over Perth," says Glenn.

"To look down and be able to see the lights that the people from Perth had turned on, all the porch lights and the refinery, and I could see not only Perth but Rockingham next door very clearly."

My mum likes to tell the story of the night, she says the family covered their clothes line in sheets and shined as many lights as they could on it
Hmmmm, might have to hunt down the Blu-ray.

It's a classic movie for sure, only watched it about 2 weeks ago