by Nigel Blackwell | Planes
Piloting the X-1 beyond the speed of sound was an accomplishment of skill, bravery and dedication. And when Chuck Yeager pushed passed Mach 1 the newly formed Air Force pushed just as hard to pick up every opportunity for publicity it could. Thing is, the Air Force...
by Nigel Blackwell | Planes
The years immediately following the end of World War II must have been a heady time to be in aviation. The “sound barrier” had gained its own reputation and the mysteries of flight were being pulled back further and further. Though some of the science...
by Nigel Blackwell | Planes
Concorde. It’s iconic. The name, its shape and its abilities are all legendary – 4000 miles at Mach 2, twice a day with a hundred people on board. Its the stuff people in jumbos and 777 yearn for. No matter its cost overruns, over its near 30 year life it...
by Nigel Blackwell | Planes
From the heady days of 1947 through to the present day you could be forgiven for thinking the Air Force/NACA X-1 was the lone aircraft probing the sound barrier, but it wasn’t. The Navy had contracted the Douglas Aircraft Corporation to build an aircraft with a...
by Nigel Blackwell | Planes
The X-1 program wasn’t just about reaching Mach 1. Supersonic was only one of numerous areas of flight and flying that the craft explored. The X-1’s speed was achieved by the thrust of a Reaction Motors XLR11 rocket (more of which later), and the duration...