Jack Woolams
Encyclopedia
Jack Woolams attended the University of Chicago
for two years before joining the United States Army Air Corps
. He served on active duty for approximately eighteen months, after which he returned to the University of Chicago and graduated with a degree in economics
in June 1941.
later that month and was soon transferred from the test flight division to the experimental research division. In September 1942, he became the first person to fly a fighter aircraft coast to coast over the United States
without stopping.
In the summer of 1943, he set a new altitude record
of 47,600 feet. He became chief test pilot
for Bell in 1944, and was the first to fly the Bell X-1
and the only one to pilot the plane at the Pinecastle facility in Orlando, Florida
.
Plant in Wheatfield, NY. The P-39 had been built at the Wheatfield plant but was owned by an organization known as Skylanes Unlimited. Woolams and the P-39 Airacobra returned to Niagara Falls
on August 29, from Cleveland, after obtaining a disappointing qualifying speed of 392 mph. Woolans was testing the red plane over Lake Ontario, late in the afternoon, possibly at speeds of up to 400 mph. It suddenly and inexplicably crashed into the water, virtually disintegrating with a roar upon impact. His body was recovered 4 days later.
See Into the Unknown (Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1994); "Jack Woolams," biographical file, NASA Historical Reference Collection.
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
for two years before joining the United States Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
. He served on active duty for approximately eighteen months, after which he returned to the University of Chicago and graduated with a degree in economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
in June 1941.
Career and Flight Records
Woolams joined Bell AircraftBell Aircraft
The Bell Aircraft Corporation was an aircraft manufacturer of the United States, a builder of several types of fighter aircraft for World War II but most famous for the Bell X-1, the first supersonic aircraft, and for the development and production of many important civilian and military helicopters...
later that month and was soon transferred from the test flight division to the experimental research division. In September 1942, he became the first person to fly a fighter aircraft coast to coast over the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
without stopping.
In the summer of 1943, he set a new altitude record
Altitude record
Altitude record may refer to:*Flight altitude record, the highest altitude to have been reached in an aircraft*World altitude record , the highest altitude to have been reached by mountaineers...
of 47,600 feet. He became chief test pilot
Test pilot
A test pilot is an aviator who flies new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques or FTTs, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated....
for Bell in 1944, and was the first to fly the Bell X-1
Bell X-1
The Bell X-1, originally designated XS-1, was a joint NACA-U.S. Army/US Air Force supersonic research project built by Bell Aircraft. Conceived in 1944 and designed and built over 1945, it eventually reached nearly 1,000 mph in 1948...
and the only one to pilot the plane at the Pinecastle facility in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
.
Death and legacy
Woolams' promising career ended abruptly August 30, 1946. He was killed during a practice flight for the upcoming National Air Races in Cleveland, that were to occur the next day. Jack had flown back to Western New York and the Bell AircraftBell Aircraft
The Bell Aircraft Corporation was an aircraft manufacturer of the United States, a builder of several types of fighter aircraft for World War II but most famous for the Bell X-1, the first supersonic aircraft, and for the development and production of many important civilian and military helicopters...
Plant in Wheatfield, NY. The P-39 had been built at the Wheatfield plant but was owned by an organization known as Skylanes Unlimited. Woolams and the P-39 Airacobra returned to Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
on August 29, from Cleveland, after obtaining a disappointing qualifying speed of 392 mph. Woolans was testing the red plane over Lake Ontario, late in the afternoon, possibly at speeds of up to 400 mph. It suddenly and inexplicably crashed into the water, virtually disintegrating with a roar upon impact. His body was recovered 4 days later.
See Into the Unknown (Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1994); "Jack Woolams," biographical file, NASA Historical Reference Collection.