home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Wild Blue Yonder 1: 50 Years of Gs & Jets
/
Wild Blue Yonder - Episode 1 - 50 Years of Gs and Jets (Digital Ranch) (Spectrum Holobyte)(1-107-40-101)(1994).iso
/
control
/
printext.dir
/
00024_Field_24.txt
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1994-08-29
|
1KB
|
20 lines
The Sound Barrier
In the 1940s, public imagination was gripped by the idea of the
"sound barrier." Despite extensive research on the possibility
of supersonic speeds, many believed a wall existed through which
no aircraft could penetrate. While some theoreticians, including
Theodore van Karman and Ezra Kotcher of the U.S. Air Force, were
confident that aircraft could fly faster than sound, they knew
there was only one way to find out.
Kotcher is regarded as the most important person in transsonic
aircraft research. He studied the problem thoroughly and
concluded that a rocket-propelled aircraft would perform much
better than a jet. Kotcher went as far as designing a prototype
much like the X-1. Then, in November of 1944, he met with Robert
Woods, Bell Aviation's famous designer, to discuss the
possibility of building a supersonic aircraft. Wood was
extremely receptive to the idea and created a small team at Bell
to work on this supersonic barrier-breaker.