Cowboy Joe (NACA High-Speed Flight Station test pilot Joseph Walker) and his steed (Bell Aircraft Corporation X-1A) A happy Joe was photographed in 1955 at Edwards, California. The X-1A was flown six times by Bell Aircraft Company pilot Jean ''Skip'' Ziegler in 1953. Air Force test pilots Maj. Charles ''Chuck'' Yeager and Maj. Arthur ''Kit'' Murray made 18 flights between 21 November 1953 and 26 August 1954. The X-1A was then turned over to the NACA. Joe Walker piloted the first NACA flight on 20 July 1955. Walker attemped a second flight on 8 August 1955, but an explosion damaged the aircraft just before launch. Walker, unhurt, climbeed back into the JTB-29A mothership, and the X-1A was jettisoned over the Edwards AFB bombing range.