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
June 1, 2017 This week in Edwards History On May 30, 1972 the Northrop YA-9A Cobra specialized ground attack aircraft made its first flight, flown by company test pilot Lew Nelson. The aircraft subsequently lost the A-X competitive prototype fly-off against the A-10, and never went into production. (Edwards History Office file photos)
June 28, 2017 This week in Edwards history On June 30, 1969, the C-5A Test Force, composed of Air Force Flight Test Center and Military Airlift Command personnel, conducted the first Air Force Preliminary Evaluation flight of the C-5A.
Sept. 12, 2017 This week in Edwards history On Sept. 15, 1942, contractor personnel were removed from the Materiel Center Flight Test Site prior to the arrival of the secret XP-59 and a group of 11 Bell Aircraft Corp. employees took over the site.
Sept. 5, 2017 This week in Edwards history On Sept. 8, 2005, a production crew from NBC Universal Studios began filming an episode of its award-winning series “Monk” at Edwards AFB. Approximately 50 Edwards personnel worked side by side with actors to portray their job specialties, which then were integrated into the finished production.
Aug. 10, 2017 This week in Edwards history On Aug. 8, 1955, the X-1A was lost after an explosion took place while still mated to its mother ship at an altitude of 30,000 feet, just 70 seconds before launch. NACA pilot Joe Walker escaped unharmed from the cockpit, whereupon the research plane was jettisoned over the bombing range. The
July 27, 2017 This week in Edwards history On July 26, 1958, test pilot Capt. Iven Kincheloe Jr. was killed following an unsuccessful ejection when his F-104 suffered an engine failure on takeoff. A Korean War fighter pilot, Kincheloe had been assigned to Edwards in the mid-1950s as a test pilot where he flew many of the new “Century” series
Jan. 3, 2018 This week in Edwards history On Jan. 3, 1966, the second prototype of the XB-70 achieved a speed of Mach 3.05 at 72,000 feet, marking the first time the aircraft type had flown at three times the speed of sound. This Edwards History Office file photo was taken June 8, 1966.
June 5, 2017 This week in Edwards history On June 5, 1948, Northrop’s YB-49 No. 2, a prototype flying wing jet bomber, went out of control during its 25th test flight and crashed about 10 miles northwest of Muroc Air Force Base. Three officers and two civilian aircrew were killed. The pilot was Maj. Daniel Forbes, Jr. and the co-pilot was
June 15, 2017 This week in Edwards history On June 15, 1964, the first Douglas B-26K counter-insurgency aircraft was ferried to Edwards to begin limited Category II evaluation for the Aeronautical Systems Center. The B-26K was a modification of Korean War-era Douglas B-26Bs adapted for combat service in Vietnam and later was redesignated