On this day in aviation history, January 19, 1946, the Bell X-1 high-speed research aircraft, made its first flight. While this first flight was in fact a gliding test, the X-1 would become the first ...

The plane had no armaments and little maneuverability. But it had speed. It’s easy today to take crossing the sound barrier for granted. Doing so has become relatively commonplace. The majority of ...

On October 14, 1947, Captain Chuck Yeager piloted the Bell X-1 aircraft, "Glamorous Glennis," achieving a speed of Mach 1.06. This flight disproved prevailing expert warnings that exceeding Mach 1 ...

In the early 60s, there were several studies into creating the first mass-produced vtol aircraft. A plane that could operate ...

CC0 Usage Conditions ApplyClick for more information. The Bell X-1 was a rocket-powered aircraft designed and built by Bell Aircraft in 1946 for a joint research project with the National Advisory ...

The countdown has begun for the XB-1’s “historic” first supersonic test flight that should break the sound barrier, according to Boom Supersonic. The test flight for the Boom Supersonic XB-1, a ...

Seven down. Three to go. Boom Supersonic—the developer of a 64-to-80-passenger commercial airliner that flies faster than the speed of sound—last week set speed and altitude records with its XB-1 test ...

Bronze globe with Bell X-1 aircraft; on wood base. The trophy has a total of six plaques around the base. The plaque on the front describes the topic of the trophy. The first plaque to the right of ...