44 years after the first twelve seconds
Bell X-1 Glamorous Glennis
Through the sound barrier
The story
Dropped from a B-29 bomber, lit the four rocket chambers and reached 1.06 at 13,000 m, the first piloted level flight faster than sound. The fuselage was shaped like a .50 calibre bullet, because bullets were known to stay stable above Mach 1.
Many believed the could not be passed: aircraft diving toward Mach 1 shook, lost control and sometimes broke up. Bell built the X-1 to find out, for the US Army Air Forces and the , the agency that became NASA. Its whole tailplane could be moved, and that gave Yeager back control of the pitch when shock waves made the elevator useless.
Two nights before the flight, Yeager broke two ribs falling from a horse. He told only his wife and the engineer Jack Ridley, who cut him a length of broom handle so he could lever the cockpit door shut. He named the aircraft after his wife, Glennis, and the flight was kept secret until June 1948.
How it works
Loading the 3D model…
Specifications
- Top speed
- 1,540 km/h
- Wingspan
- 8.5 m
- Max weight
- 5,560 kg
- Ceiling
- 21,900 m
- Range
- —
- In 12 seconds
- 5.1 km
- Power
- XLR11 rocket, 27 kN
Where it flew
Over , California
Over Muroc Dry Lake, California. Muroc is now Edwards Air Force Base; the dry lakebed is unchanged. The simulator starts here, over today's ground and imagery of the place.
Fly it yourself
Take the Bell X-1 up in 3D, with its real weight, wing area and power.
You have 2½ minutes of rocket fuel. Climb and pass Mach 1.
On displayNational Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C.
