On October 14, 1947, U.S. Air Force pilot Chuck Yeager flew the Bell X-1 rocket plane faster than the speed of sound in level flight. The flight took place above the Mojave Desert in California. Yeager’s aircraft, nicknamed Glamorous Glennis, was carried aloft by a B-29 and then released. After ignition, the X-1 exceeded Mach 1, proving that controlled supersonic flight was possible. The achievement removed doubts about high-speed flight that had troubled engineers and pilots. It opened the way for faster military aircraft and influenced the development of commercial jet travel.
