14/10/2026
Engineers have strived to make aircraft fly faster, higher, further and with Sir Frank Whittle's turbojet engine design, this helped aircraft like the Meteor shatter world speed records.
There have been many attempts to break the sound barrier and set new records, and there are three record-breaking moments which have happened during this week in October. From the air, to the edge of space, to the ground: three very different ways of going supersonic.
14 October 1947 – Over the Californian desert, Captain Chuck Yeager flew the rocket powered Bell X-1 faster than the speed of sound after launching from a B52. It was the first time a crewed aircraft had done it.
14 October 2012 – 65 years to the day later, Felix Baumgartner stepped out of a capsule high above New Mexico and became the first skydiver to break the sound barrier in freefall.
15 October 1997 – In the Nevada desert, RAF pilot Andy Green drove Thrust SSC past the speed of sound. It was the first land vehicle ever to do it.
Here at the Jet Age Museum, the Gloster Meteor and Javelin in our collection come from the era when British engineers were pushing speed limits. These aircraft approached the speed of sound but were not designed to did break it, although the Javelin reportedly did so once in a dive!
The Jet Age Museum is run entirely by volunteers and is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 10.00am to 4.00pm. However, please check our website for details of extra events. https://jetagemuseum.org/
View Gloucestershire's aviation collection showcasing exhibits from the early days of flight and the birth of the Jet Age. No entry fee, donations welcome
