X-1 Rocketplane "Glamorus Glennis"

Bell X-1 was the first manned aircraft that oficially broke the sound barrier in 1947. Although there are many earlier reports from various sources, including Nazi Germany, that sound barrier was broken before the X-1 flight, Chuck Yeager is still regarded as the first pilot achieving this goal.

The aircraft was nicknamed "Glammorous Glennis" after Chuck Yeagers (the pilot) wife. It was powered by RMI XLR-11 series rocket engine providing 26,7 kN of thrust. The airplane itself was shaped after the 12,7mm rifle bullet, being the only aerodynamically stable shape in supersonic conditions known to US scientists in those days.

The X-1 was heavily influenced by eariler British design - the Miles M.52 supersonic jet (never finished). The all moving tailplane was copied from the Miles jet and it proved to be essential in making the X-1 (and all supersonic crafts) flyable in speeds above Mach 1.

More:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_X-1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miles_M.52

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Bell
• X-1
• Chuck
• Yeager
• rocketplane
• rocket
• plane
• sound
• barrier
• soundbarrier
• breaking
• supersonic
• jet
• engine

[byron500]

BTW. Happy Birthday Gen. Yeager. Feb. 13th 2012. 89 years old.

[byron500]

usterdboy: LOL I'm hardly British. I was raised on USAF bases around the world. Obviously you missed the TIC comment. Airplanes suffering compressability and losing control happened a lot during the war. Even Gen. Yeager was almost a victim of that very thing. Too much speed in a dive claimed many a pilot. General Yeager is one of my most admired men. LOL and don't let your mommy find out you are calling people names. She might take away your computer.

[usterdboy]

@byron500 Hey idiot the X-1 was the first. I guess your British though "god forgive you for being a stupid brit"

[grippin762]

Today is the anniversary of Mr. Yeager's brave achievement. Thank you sir.

[andrewr62]

@Freeleacher Could woulda shoulda, did not.

[greenseaships]

@byron500 Yes, everytime a great technical threshold is crossed, there's always stuff like that. The wright brothers, Spirit of St. Louis, Voyager, etc.. History and historians have a way of brushing off all that 'kinda, sorta, almost' crap and focusing on the real deals.

[richintalent]

0:41 Yeager and Gen, Albert G. Boyd, 0:55 Jack Ridley, flight engineer The roll at 3:00 was against all USAF regulations

[byron500]

Oh Yeah! Everybody , On the subject on rather the sound barrier had been broken during the war well before Yeager in '47. I'm sure it had been broken during the war. Probably several times! Also, probably by pilots in a ballsout dive trying to get away from a pursueing fighter shooting them down and being broken 5 seconds before the a/c drilled a hole in the ground.

[byron500]

Hardly stolen British secrets. I doubt there was much in the way of secrets between the British and the Americans specifically with technology. The marriage of British powerplants and the North American P-51 design for example.