Chasing the Demon: A Secret History of the Quest for the Sound Barrier, and the Band of American Aces Who Conquered It Audiobook (Free)

The New York Times bestselling author of Viper Pilot chronicles another thrilling chapter in American aviation history: the race to break the sound barrier.

In the aftermath of World War II, the United States accelerated the introduction of technologies that would give it an edge on the Soviet Union. Airpower, coupled with nuclear weapons, provided a formidable check up on Soviet hostility. In 1947, america Air Push was established. In the meantime, scientists and technical engineers had been about Chasing the Demon: A Key Background of the Quest for the Sound Barrier, and the Band of American Aces Who Conquered It pioneering a revolutionary new kind of aircraft which could perform what no additional machine got ever done: reach mach 1-a rate faster compared to the motion of sound-which pilots known as ‘the demon.’

Chasing the Demon recreates a time of excitement and danger, adventure and innovation, when the future of the free world was on the line and American ingenuity required the world from your postwar years to the space age. As the pressure to achieve success was high, it was unknown whether guy or machine could survive such great speeds.

A decorated army pilot with many years of knowledge soaring supersonic fighter jets, Dan Hampton reveals in-depth the many potential risks that emerged with the Air Force’s test flights: settings broke down, engines flamed out, wings snapped, and planes and pilots disintegrated as they crashed into the desert ground. He also introduces the men who pressed the envelope taking the cockpits of these jets, including World War II ace Main Dick Bong and twenty-four-year-old Captain Chuck Yeager, who made history traveling the Bell X-1 aircraft faster than the speed of audio on Oct 14, 1947.

Chasing after the Demon recalls this era of the emerging Cold War as well as the daring adventurers pursing the final frontier in aviation.