On 14 October 1947, the Bell X-1 rocket powered experimental aircraft, piloted by the legendary test pilot, Chuck Yeager, became the first airplane to fly faster than the speed of sound. To accomplish this feat, the aircraft was air-launched at 7,000 meters (23,000 feet) from the belly of a WWII bomber. In tribute to his wife, Yeager named the airplane "Glamorous Glennis".
