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On September 7, 1956, USAF Captain Iven C. Kincheloe flew the
exotic Bell X-2 research craft to a new world altitude record
of 126,000 feet - the first time a manned airplane had ever flown
outside the earth's atmosphere. Considered as pioneering in 1956
as the moon landing was in 1969, this flight earned Capt. Kincheloe
the well-deserved nickname of "First of the Spacemen."
Machat's original painting contains actual granules of white
paint obtained from the Bell X-2, which was also the first airplane
to fly at Mach 3, or 2,100 mph. |