Posted on 10/13/2017 1:18:57 AM PDT by LibWhacker
Click here to drag and click
and look around the cockpit.
n the morning of October 14, 1947, U.S. Air Force Capt. Charles E. “Chuck” Yeager made humankind’s first supersonic flight in the bullet-shaped Bell X-1 aircraft he nicknamed Glamorous Glennis, after his wife.
That aircraft now hangs in the Boeing Milestones of Flight hall in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
This 360-degree VR view is part of a series of aircraft cockpits photographed for the Museum by Dennis Biela of LightSpeed Media. Click and drag anywhere inside the frame to “look around” inside the cockpit. To see it full-screen, click the symbol in the lower right corner of the frame.
Things to note as you explore the X-1 cockpit:
The distinct H-shaped yoke determined both roll and pitch. Airspeed was controlled by the number of rocket chambers—up to four—fired by the silver thumb-switch to the left of the yoke; there was no throttle.
The Mach indicator above goes to Mach 1.5; it was most likely installed after Yeager’s first transonic flight. It’s flanked by a conventional altimeter and airspeed indicator. The fastest Glamorous Glennis ever flew was Mach 1.45.
Yeager signed his name in the cockpit of Glamorous Glennis on many occasions over the decades. (He piloted 33 of the aircraft’s 78 career test flights, including its last, on May 12, 1950.) Can you find all his signatures?
It seems to be missing the length of broomstick he had with him when he broke the sound barrier.
He’d broken some ribs while riding a horse the day before.
Sssshhhuuussshhh !!! That’s a classified!
Bookmark.
Ping
I remember seeing it in the museum. So tiny!
Holy Toledo, very primitive by today’s standards.
That’s what struck me. Super primitive looking. The seat is basically a metal bench with seat belts. No padding except for a small headrest.
‘Saw it. Pretty neat.
BFL
Wow! I had the same thought. Not much more than sitting in a metal can with a couple of straps for safety — if you can call flying an experimental aircraft like this truly safe.
Chuck Yeager and all those test pilots are truly American inspirations. I wish more kids today would learn about them.
Time to schedule 4 hours to re-watch The Right Stuff.
“The seat is basically a metal bench with seat belts. No padding except for a small headrest.”
I wonder if he was sitting on his parachute.
The seats of WWII jap zeroes were exceedingly low, because the pilots sat on their parachutes. Kind of a good way to save weight and space.
Definitely not made for comfort.
BUMP!
I wonder if he was sitting on his parachute.
Might be the case, because looking down at the seat, there is basically nothing there except a metal frame.
You can't. Many experimental pilots died, and still do.
Where did they put the change of underwear??
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