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Celebrating Chuck Yeager's 'right stuff' at 65 (pictures)

Sixty-five years ago, Capt. Charles E. Yeager made history by becoming the first pilot to fly faster than the speed of sound.

Charles Cooper
Charles Cooper was an executive editor at CNET News. He has covered technology and business for more than 25 years, working at CBSNews.com, the Associated Press, Computer & Software News, Computer Shopper, PC Week, and ZDNet.
Charles Cooper
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1 of 13 U.S. Air Force
On October 14, 1947, the Bell X-1 piloted by U.S. Air Force Capt. Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager, became the first airplane to fly faster than the speed of sound. The X-1 reached a speed of 700 miles per hour, Mach 1.06, at an altitude of 13,000 meters (43,000 feet). Yeager named the airplane "Glamorous Glennis" in tribute to his wife.
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2 of 13 NASA Photo / USAF photo by Lt. Robert A. Hoover
The history of X planes begins with the X-1. It wasn't just the first in the lineage--it was the first aircraft ever to break the sound barrier. That flight occurred on October 14, 1947, with Chuck Yeager in the cockpit. The photo here shows the Bell Aircraft X-1-1 in flight, along with a snippet of the paper tape (which tracked the flight data) showing the jump to supersonic speed at Mach 1. The achievement was classified as top secret and the Air Force would not confirm the supersonic flight until March 1948.
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Another view of the Bell X-1 in flight.
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Charles E. Yeager, shown standing next to the Air Force's Bell-built X-1 supersonic research aircraft.
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Capt. Charles E. Yeager (shown standing in front of the Air Force's Bell-built X-1A supersonic research aircraft.
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The Bell X-1A in flight.
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Capt. Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager transfers from a B-29 to the Bell X-1A.
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A Bell Aircraft Corporation X-1 series aircraft cockpit instruments display.
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Jackie Cochran and Chuck Yeager being presented with the Harmon International Trophies by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
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The Bell Aircraft Corporation X-1-2 with the Boeing B-29 launch ship behind.
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Chuck Yeager in the cockpit of an NF-104, December 4, 1963.
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12 of 13 Daniel Terdiman/CNET

The actual X-1

This is the actual Bell X-1 that Chuck Yeager used to break the sound barrier for the first time in 1947.
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13 of 13 Daniel Terdiman/CNET
Honoring Yeager's achievement, a statue of him stands in a small park at Edwards Air Force Base. The engraving reads, "Sound Barrier Cracked. On October 14, 1947, 42,000 feet above this monument, Captain Chuck Yeager, USAF, piloting a Bell X S-1 rocket airplane named 'Glamorous Glennis,' became the first person to exceed Mach 1. With this flight, the era of supersonic aviation was born."

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