The XP-59A, America’s first turbojet-powered airplane. On October 1, 1942, as Bell test pilot Bob Stanley completed the final series of high-speed taxi tests, the aircraft's wheels lifted off from the surface of Rogers Dry Lake and, for the first time, an American turbojet became airborne. The official first flight took place October 2. (U.S. AIr Force Photo courtesy AFFTC History Office)