At Rogers Dry Lake, near Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert (California), Jackie Cochran flew a Canadair F-86 Sabre jet, and reached the speed of 1,049.835 kilometers per hour. The first man to break the sound barrier was the famous Charles “Chuck” Yeager (he flew Bell X-1, and achieved this goal in 1947). “Chuck” was a friend of Jackie Cochran, and flew with her on this day.
Jacqueline is considered to be one of the most famous pilots in the American history. She reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and was the first woman pilot to fly a bomber (Lockheed Hudson V) across the Atlantic Ocean.
Jackie Cochran still holds more distance and speed records than any other pilot. For example, she was the first woman to fly at Mach 2 (twice the speed of sound), the first woman to fly a jet aircraft on a transatlantic flight, the first pilot to make a bling (instrument) landing, the first woman to take off and land on an aircraft carrier, the first woman to fly a fixed-wing, jet aircraft across the Atlantic, and the only woman ever to be president of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI).
