Breaking the sound barrier (1947) |
|
USAF pilot Chuck Yeager, was the first to fly faster than sound, in the tiny jet powered SX1.  One test pilot [son of the English founder of De Havilland] died in 1946 when he lost control in a dive at Mach 0.8. Yeager also lost control (at Mach 0.94) due to shock waves disabling the tail elevators. By design (?) the XS1 had a manual horizontal stabilizer function that rotated the whole tail. On a later successful flight, Chuck used that to control the plane through the sound barrier (with two broken ribs from an accident on a horse two days before; keeping a constant eye on the rocket chamber pressure gauges to avoid blowout). |
|
The US kept the critical tail rotation function secret for the next five years. |