By Utibe Inyang
Simplified explanation of the challenges of supersonic flight led to the creation of the term “sound barrier”, which seemed to imply a physical wall that could not be overcome. Bullets and cannon balls had exceeded the speed of sound for hundreds of years, but the question loomed as to whether or not a plane – or a man – could withstand the pressures that accompanied it. So, on October 14, 1947, U.S. Air Force set out to answer this looming question through Capt. Charles Elwood Yeager who fired the Bell X-1 (a rocket type plane) engine and was able to accelerate past the sound barrier and remained supersonic (exceeding the speed of sound ) for approximately 20 seconds.
Thus, Charles Elwood Yeager became the first Pilot in history confirmed to have exceeded the speed of sound in level flight.
