Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Updated to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of Chuck Yeager's first supersonic flight, Brassey's presents a new edition of Richard P. Hallion's acclaimed history of the struggle to break the sound barrier. The book describes the basic problems of supersonic flight; the story of the Bell X-1 in which Yeager successfully broke the sound barrier in 1947; and the Douglas D-558, the first aircraft to reach twice the speed of sound. Includes a new introduction cowritten by astronaut Michael Collins.