"BELL X1" sweat

BARNSTORMER presents the X-Plane collection. These experimental aircraft, developed in the greatest secrecy, have made it possible to achieve the greatest advances in aeronautics. Let's pay tribute to the research, the challenges and the dangers that so many men have faced in their quest to push back the frontiers of knowledge.

Let's delve into the incredible story of the BELL X1, the first flying machine to break the sound barrier.

The X-1 is nothing less than a “winged ball”. To design the fuselage, Bell engineers took as their model a 12.7 mm bullet (caliber .50 BMG), known for its stability at supersonic speed. However, the unconventional shape of the aircraft meant that the pilot had to sit in a narrow cabin in the nose.

The X-1 and its best-known pilot, Chuck Yeager, go down in history as the first aircraft and the first man to break the sound barrier.

The X-1 is currently on display in the Milestone Hall of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, alongside the Spirit of Saint Louis and Space Ship One.

The date of October 14, 1947, will be remembered as mankind's first “BANG”.  To mark the 77th anniversary, we created the X1 sweatshirt.