Oct. 13, 2016 This week in Edwards flight test history: Yeager breaks sound barrier On Oct. 14, 1947, on his ninth powered flight in the airplane, Capt. Charles E. “Chuck” Yeager piloted the Bell X-1 “Glamorous Glennis,” named after his wife, to a speed of 699.4 mph at 43,000 feet (Mach 1.06), and became the first to exceed the speed of sound. This X-1 flight established that
Oct. 13, 2016 New test force focuses on autonomy, small unmanned aircraft systems, new technologies The 412th Test Wing has a new organization that will explore the Air Force warfighting capabilities of tomorrow. The Emerging Technologies Combined Test Force was officially activated in early July and its mission is to provide agile, innovative flight test capabilities for emerging technologies.