What WWII fighter ace went on to become the first human to travel faster than the speed of sound when he piloted the Bell X-1, nicknamed Glamorous Glennis, past Mach 1?
Bell X-1 Bell X-1 The Bell X-1 is a rocket engine–powered aircraft, designated originally as the XS-1, and was a joint National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics–U.S. Army Air Forces–U.S. Air Force supersonic research project built by Bell Aircraft. Conceived during 1944 and designed and built in 1945, it achieved a speed of nearly in 1948. A derivative of this same design, the Bell X-1A, having greater fuel capacity and hence longer rocket burning time, exceeded in 1954. The X-1, piloted by Chuck Yeager, was the first manned airplane to exceed the speed of sound in level flight and was the first of
Bell X-1 Charles "Chuck" Yeager piloted USAF aircraft #46-062, nicknamed "Glamorous Glennis" for his wife. The airplane was drop launched from the bomb bay of a B-29 and reached Mach 1.06 (). Following burnout of the engine, the plane glided to a landing on the dry lake bed. This was XS-1 flight number 50. The three main participants in the X-1 program won the National Aeronautics Association Collier Trophy in 1948 for their efforts. Honored at the White House by President Truman were Larry Bell for Bell Aircraft, Captain Yeager for piloting the flights, and John Stack for the contributions of the