Word: skystreak
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Dates: during 1947-1947
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...wondrous week: ¶ In El Segundo, Calif., the Navy introduced its new Skyrocket, the first man-carrying plane (as distinct from guided missiles) powered by both jet and rocket energy. Built by Douglas, the Skyrocket is a swordfish-shaped, back-swept-winged sister ship of the Navy's Skystreak, present holder of the world's speed record (650.6 m.p.h.). Douglasmen hoped that it would make air history by breaking through the sonic wall-i.e., by flying faster than the speed of sound (about 765 m.p.h. at sea level). ¶ In St. Louis, the McDonell Aircraft Corp...
...Navy's experimental Douglas Skystreak holds the world's speed record-650.6 m.p.h...
...speed record, inching closer to the critical speed of sound, moved up a double notch. At Muroc Dry Lake, Calif., the Navy's Douglas Skystreak (0-558), piloted by Commander Turner F. Caldwell, zipped four times over a three-kilometer course at the average speed of 640.7 m.p.h. This was 16.9 m.p.h. faster than the record set (on June 19) by Lockheed's P-80R. Then last week, five days later, Marine Major Marion Carl (credited with 18 Japanese planes) took the Skystreak up again. Flying at times only 25 feet above the desert, he averaged 650.6 m.p.h...
According to the up-to-date method of measuring airplane speeds (in "mach numbers"), the second flight of the Skystreak was no better than the first. During both flights it reached "mach .828." This means that both times it moved at 82.8% of the speed that sound would travel through the same air. While Commander Caldwell was flying the Skystreak, the temperature of the air was only 75° F. But when Major Carl took the controls, it was 94° F. Sound travels faster in hot air, so the speed of sound at the course moved up too, keeping...