In August 1947, Howard Clifton Lilly became the first permanently assigned NACA engineering test pilot at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics' Muroc Flight Test Unit at what later became Edwards Air Force Base in California.
Howard C. LillyE49-0091
In August 1947, Howard Clifton Lilly became the first permanently assigned NACA engineering test pilot at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics’ Muroc Flight Test Unit at what later became Edwards Air Force Base in California. During his assignment at Muroc, he flew both the XS-1 rocket research aircraft and the D-558-I jet-powered research airplane. On 31 March 1948, Lilly became the third pilot to exceed the speed of sound in the XS-1. Read bio.1949NASA Photo / › Pilots Description