October 14, 1947, Muroc Army Air Field
Thirteen year-old Betty Cooper watched from a distance as technicians worked to ensure that the B-29 bomber was ready for its flight. Her father, Major Hal Cooper, was the pilot of the plane. However he was the star of the show today. Attached to the underside of the plane was another smaller aircraft, one unlike any other.
Called the X-1, instead of a propeller or even one of the new jet engines the X-1 was instead powered by a rocket engine. The rocket allowed the X-1 to go faster than any other airplane in existence. The plan today was for the pilot Captain. Charles "Chuck" Yeager, to break the sound barrier, some that had never been done before.
The Bell X-1 didn't take off on its own. Its rocket engine wouldn't fire for long enough to for it to take off and get up to speed and the speed of sound was slower at high altitude as compared to on the ground, a fact Betty didn't completely understand but it had something to do with the air being thinner. Instead the B-29 which Betty's father was flying, would carry the X-1 up into the air and drop it. After gliding a short distance the X-1 would fire its engine and basically attempt to go as fast it could and hopefully go faster than the speed of sound.
Betty watched as the technicians had finished their preparations and the B-29 fired up its engines. Slowly the plane taxied to the end of the runway. Betty's eyes however were on the orange X-1 attached to the B-29's starboard wing the entire time.
Once it was in position the B-29's engines spun up to full power and the big plane rumbled down the runway. Slowly it rotated and took off into the air going into a long steading banking climb. Soon it became difficult to make out any distinguishing features.
"Pass me the binoculars!" Betty said excitedly to her mother.
Betty's mother Alice handed her a pair of binoculars and Betty used them to watch as the B-29 climbed higher and higher before it began to level off. A few minutes later Betty saw the small orange X-1 drop free from the B-29. It's rocket engine fired and the plane shot forward at amazing speed and began climbing even higher. Betty then saw a white cloud form around the X-1's tail and then a few seconds later there was a loud boom. For a moment she had thought that the X-1 had blown up but she saw that it was still streaking across the sky. She then realized that it had happened, the X-1 had broken the sound barrier.
Betty was grinning widely as she watched the X-1's engine finally burn out and it began to glide to the ground. She turned to her mother.
"One day I'm gonna fly even faster and higher than that," Betty said to her mother.
