Faster than the Speed of Sound Quiz

Answer: $150,000

Chuck Yeager figured the Air Force was already paying him to be a test pilot, he didn't require a bonus.

Answer: Chuck Yeager

Many people had claimed to have broken the sound barrier prior to Yeager, but only while diving, where an aircraft naturally picks up speed. Level flight was important to fly faster than Mach 1 because the aircraft was controlled, where many thought supersonic flight was uncontrollable.

Answer: October 14, 1947

November 20, 1953 was the date the first man flew at twice the speed of sound, Mach 2. December 17 1903 was the first flight. July 20, 1969 was the date mankind had first set foot on the moon.

Answer: Glamorous Glennis

The Glamorous Glennis was a Bell X-1 named after Chuck Yeager's wife. The Wright Flyer was the first flyable aircraft, developed by the Wright brothers. The Spirit of St. Louis was the plane Charles Lindbergh flew on his solo trans-Atlantic flight. The Enola Gay dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

Answer: Bell X-1

Only 3 X-1 aircraft were produced, but were the first aircraft intended for research purposes. The SR-71 was an American spy plane which could fly at Mach 3 with ease. The X-15 was a rocket plane that could fly to the edge of the atmosphere. Eight X-15 pilots have earned Astronaut Wings for flying higher than 50 miles altitude.

The Skyrocket was flown by Scott Crossfield when he became the first pilot to fly at Mach 2.

Answer: Edwards AFB, CA

If the weather is bad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Edwards AFB is the second choice for a Space Shuttle landing. There have been many Shuttle landings there.

Answer: All of these

Sound waves are compression waves, so the speed of sound is loosely defined as the speed at which air can compress. Conventional thought was that since the air could not compress faster than the speed of the aircraft, it would be like flying into a brick wall, and break apart or lose control. Also, if the air could not compress, then conventional aerodynamics can no longer apply and it was unknown how the aircraft would perform, or even fly.

Answer: False

Due to Cold War concerns, the Air Force did not want the Soviets to know we had the capability of supersonic flight. The public first knew about Chuck Yeager's flight about a year after it happened.

Answer: Scott Crossfield

Shortly after, Chuck Yeager retook the airspeed record by flying Mach 2.4

Answer: funtrivia.com

Speed is relative. The air inside the aircraft is traveling at the same speed as you, so its relative speed is zero. But due to the noise of the aircraft, you may have to yell.