On Oct. 14, 1947, U.S. Air Force Capt. Chuck Yeager became the first person to break the sound barrier as he flew a Bell X-1 rocket plane over Muroc Dry Lake in California. In 2012, Yeager, at the age of 89, marked the 65th anniversary of that flight by smashing through the sound barrier again, this time in the backseat of an F-15.
Orville Wright was a fiercely private person. Despite his fame as one of the Wright brothers, inventors of the world's first piloted airplane, he often refused to make speeches or public appearances. Only a few recordings of his voice exist. Hawthorn Hill, his 6,200-square-foot "success mansion" built just outside Dayton, Ohio, was a rare setting where he felt fully at home.
Also on this date: In 1787, the Constitution of the United States was completed and signed by a majority of delegates attending the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. In 1862, more than 3,600 men were killed in the Civil War Battle of Antietam (an-TEE'-tum) in Maryland. In 1944, during World War II, Allied paratroopers launched Operation Market Garden, landing behind German lines in the Netherlands.
Of YouTube's many microgenres, one of the most popular and most enduring is the airplane meltdown. There are thousands or maybe millions of these videos online: Passengers going nuts over spilled drinks or supposedly bad service; flight cancellations turning grown adults feral.
"For seven decades, the B-52 has stood as a symbol of American airpower. With its unmistakable silhouette and dual-capable nature, it serves as a visible and credible strategic deterrent for the United States and its allies."
