Photo of the Day
Bell X-1, faster than sound
Wednesday 14 October 2026
Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in this plane on 14 October 1947.
The Bell X-1 rocket plane in flight. On 14 October 1947 Chuck Yeager flew this exact aircraft to Mach 1.06, the first time a piloted plane was confirmed faster than the speed of sound in level flight.
Fun facts
- It didn't take off from the ground. A B-29 bomber carried it aloft and dropped it before it lit its rocket engine. source ↗
- Its body is shaped like a .50-caliber bullet, a shape already known to stay stable at supersonic speeds. source ↗
- Yeager had cracked two ribs falling off a horse two days earlier, and used a sawed-off broom handle to close the hatch. source ↗
- He named it Glamorous Glennis after his wife. It now hangs in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. source ↗
- Image
- NASA
- Licence
- Public domain
- Source
- Wikimedia Commons