Supersonic corridor innviet ved Edwards AFB - Twitter

 

Maj. Alex “Brick” Shuler, F-22 Test Pilot became the first pilot to break the sound barrier in the newly named “Bell X-1 Supersonic Corridor”.

75 years to the day after the Bell X-1 proved that the Sound Barrier was only an engineering challenge, the 412th Test Wing hosted a ceremony to honor the contributions of the team behind that remarkable aircraft. The small team of engineers, pilots, and maintenance personnel came to the Mojave Desert to overcome the so-called Sound Barrier in 1947. On the ninth powered flight, the Bell X-1 surpassed the speed of sound (Mach 1) in level, controlled flight. The ceremony served to celebrate that accomplishment and mark the beginning of the Edwards Air Force Base STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Expo, Open House, and Air Show that ran over the weekend.

According to James A. Tucker, Air Force Test Center History Office, in the article Edwards Air Force Base celebrates 75 years of Supersonic Flight, with the families of several team members in the audience, Brigadier General Matthew Higer, Commander of the 412th Test Wing, renamed the High Altitude Supersonic Corridor to the Bell X-1 Supersonic Corridor.