The essential components of an airplane are a wing system to sustain it in flight, tail surfaces to stabilize the wings, movable surfaces to control the attitude of the plane in flight, and a power plant to provide the thrust necessary to push the vehicle through the air.
The first plane to break the sound barrier in level flight was a rocket plane – the Bell X-1 in 1948. The North American X-15 broke many speed and altitude records in the 1960s and pioneered engineering concepts for later aircraft and spacecraft.This video shows the plane on its way from England to France, accompanied by engineers and paramedics ready to rescue the pilot if he were to crash. (more) See all videos for this article