IV

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 319

Honoring the accomplishments of members of the United States Air Force

and other Americans working under Air Force leadership who contributed

to the development of supersonic flight technology.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

AUGUST 5, 1998

Mr. HALL of Ohio submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was

referred to the Committee on National Security

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Honoring the accomplishments of members of the United

States Air Force and other Americans working under

Air Force leadership who contributed to the development

of supersonic flight technology.

Whereas the Army Air Force was the lead United States

agency for the development of supersonic flight technology;

Whereas on October 14, 1947, United States Air Force Captain Charles E. ‘‘Chuck’’ Yeager’s flight in the Bell

XS–1 rocket-propelled supersonic research aircraft was

the first to exceed the speed of sound;

Whereas the United States Air Force developed the X-series

aircraft, which, as airborne research tools, enabled aeronautical science to make a bold leap forward;
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Whereas many individual Americans selflessly gave their

time, energy, and expertise to achieve the technological

breakthrough in aeronautical science that supersonic

flight represented;

Whereas on June 30 and July 1, 1947, representatives of the

Army Air Force’s Air Materiel Command and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics met at Wright

Field, Ohio, and finalized plans for the first supersonic

flight;

Whereas the individuals who devoted themselves to achieving

this breakthrough and to the overall improvement of air

and space flight include—

Captain (later Air Force brigadier general) Charles

E. ‘‘Chuck’’ Yeager, Air Force Bell XS–1 test pilot and

the first pilot to exceed the speed of sound;

Captain Jackie Ridley, Air Force test pilot and

flight test planner for the Bell XS–1 aircraft’s supersonic

research missions at Muroc Dry Lake, California;

Colonel (later Air Force general) Albert Boyd, chief

of flight testing at the Air Materiel Command, Wright

Field, Ohio;

Ezra Kotcher, Air Force engineer who developed the

design requirements for the Bell XS–1 aircraft and who

was a tireless advocate for the procurement of supersonic

research aircraft;

Fred D. Orazio, Sr., Air Force engineer who developed preliminary design studies for a supersonic demonstrator aircraft powered by a turbojet engine;

George Bailey, Air Force engineer who developed

preliminary design studies for a supersonic demonstrator

aircraft powered by a rocket motor;
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John Stack, National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics research scientist and visionary pioneer of the supersonic research aircraft concept;

Walter C. Williams, National Advisory Committee

for Aeronautics flight test director who managed and directed the efforts to conduct flight research with the Bell

XS–1 aircraft at Muroc Dry Lake, California;

Robert Woods, Bell Aircraft Corporation chief engineer who took on the challenge to build a supersonic aircraft and who assembled the design team that made its

construction possible;

Jack Woolams, Bell Aircraft Corporation test pilot

who first proved the flight worthiness of the Bell XS–1

aircraft and who championed the aircraft until his tragic

death in an air racing accident;

Chalmers H. ‘‘Slick’’ Goodlin, Bell Aircraft Corporation test pilot who validated the design of the Bell XS–

1 aircraft during its contractor flight tests; and

Richard H. Frost, Bell Aircraft Corporation test

pilot and engineer who provided technical instruction,

guidance, and counsel to the Bell XS–1 aircraft test team

as it approached ever-higher speeds in pursuit of the goal

of supersonic flight; and

Whereas these Americans and many others brought to the

world a new era of high-speed flight that made possible

the tremendous advances in international air transport

that followed: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That the Congress—

3 (1) honors the accomplishments of members of

4 the United States Air Force and other Americans
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1 working under Air Force leadership to develop su2 personic flight technology; and

3 (2) finds that the example of those who worked

4 to develop supersonic flight technology serves as

5 both an inspiration and challenge to Americans

6 today as they stand poised on the threshold of a new

7 century of flight.

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