Please Note: Peter Chilelli's prints come in different aspect ratios for each image, so sizes will vary!
Plane type: Mach 2
Photo Illustration of Chuck Yeager exceeding Mach 2 on December 12, 1953. The USAF was attempting a Mach 2 flight and USAF test pilot Charles "Chuck" Yeager was eager. He reached speed of Mach 2.435, at a altitude of 75,000 feet on December 12, 1953, a speed record at the time. But all was not well, the aircraft encountered an inertial coupling phenomenon and went out of control. Once the X-1A had entered the denser atmosphere (35,000 feet) it slowly stabilized and Yeager was able to return to Edwards. The aircraft had experienced high-speed roll-coupling, something aerodynamics experts had predicted, but this was the first actual encounter.