December 10, 1954 –
To determine whether or not a pilot can safely eject from an aircraft traveling at supersonic speeds, Lieutenant Colonel John Paul Stapp, a flight surgeon, rides in a rocket sled that accelerates to 632mph in just five seconds then stops in just 1.25 seconds at Holloman Air Force Base, in New Mexico, on this date.
The trip exposes him to forty Gs, the equivalent of a car crashing into a brick wall at 120 mph. This was one crazy/ brave SOB.
The Haus of Dcaligari 