A true American hero has passed.
Rest in supersonic peace.
Rest in supersonic peace.
Chuck Yeager Passed
- Thread starter Davesnothere
- Start date
A great man. RIP.
fox40.com
Gen. Chuck Yeager, first person to break the sound barrier, dies at 97
General Chuck Yeager, WWII fighter pilot and the first person to break the sound barrier in flight has died. He was 97.
fox40.com
I hope for his sake that there is no tonnage limit on brass balls when crossing through the pearly gates.
EDIT: This reminds me that it's probably time to introduce my oldest son to the movie The Right Stuff. Since he's currently "remote learning", we'll mark down that three hours as educational.
EDIT: This reminds me that it's probably time to introduce my oldest son to the movie The Right Stuff. Since he's currently "remote learning", we'll mark down that three hours as educational.
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That news will be preempted on mainstream media with some stupid shit like Justin Bebers new release or some ignorant TikTok dance.
An amazing human being.
Got any Beemans, Ridley?
Sirhr
Got any Beemans, Ridley?
Sirhr
RIP. I met him at Mojave airport ~20 years ago. A girl I was dating her parents had a aircraft material company and had a hanger up there. Yeager had like half the hangers there, he was as genuine as they get. He was one of the ones that you knew had a passion for the aircraft and technology, not just a guy with money showing off toys. He was a great to the aviation field and the USA.
In case anyone didn't know... Yeager had a bit part in the movie The Right Stuff!
The 'lurking janitor' whose broomhandle Ridley and 'Yeager' cut off... that was Chuck Yeager.
I always loved the irony of the real hero with the right stuff... playing the shop janitor in the iconic movie.
Cheers,
Sirhr
The 'lurking janitor' whose broomhandle Ridley and 'Yeager' cut off... that was Chuck Yeager.
I always loved the irony of the real hero with the right stuff... playing the shop janitor in the iconic movie.
Cheers,
Sirhr
Sirhr, he didn't play the janitor, he played the bartender (other than Pancho, of course).
A couple other notes. The Right Stuff, great movie but in Hollywood fashion it is incredibly inaccurate historically and in treatment of the astronauts, particularly Grissom. Tom Wolfe's book, completely different there and I highly recommend it.
For reading on Gen Yeager himself, read his autobiography. It is still one of my favorite books I've ever read, and I've read it four times while passing my paperback around a couple different platoons until it fell to pieces, bought another and the same happened to it as well as it was that favored of a read for us Jarhead grunts. The man was far more than a test pilot, he was incredibly dominant in aerial combat. He was a true warrior and patriot, one of America's greatest for sure.
For reading on Gen Yeager himself, read his autobiography. It is still one of my favorite books I've ever read, and I've read it four times while passing my paperback around a couple different platoons until it fell to pieces, bought another and the same happened to it as well as it was that favored of a read for us Jarhead grunts. The man was far more than a test pilot, he was incredibly dominant in aerial combat. He was a true warrior and patriot, one of America's greatest for sure.
Fifth grade book report. One of two or three book reports I actually enjoyed.
That’s right!! Lurking guy at bar!!! I knew he was doing something like that!
Thanks my friend!!! Great correction!
Sirhr
Just one of many, many stories about the man that should make it easier to understand why it was so surprising that he died of old age:
OK, so you had an aircraft that had already killed a half-dozen men (who presumably themselves were pretty good pilots), and he set out to deliberately re-create the fault.
This was after he broke the sound barrier in a plane that had no throttle and had exhibited a lack of pitch control on previous tests in the trans-sonic realm. This was not some single moment of heroism; it was his approach to his vocation.
Oh, and he scored five kills in one mission.
And he spent several weeks in France doing E&E.
After that adventure, he shot down not one but two Me262 jet fighters.
He flew combat missions in Vietnam.
He broke the sound barrier at age 89.
I'd include more items on this list, but I apparently have some dust in both eyes.
In another example, Yeager related, “I was testing the F-86 and we had five to six accidents already. I pulled up about 3 G’s in a roll and found out that the aileron locked up. I pulled back from 3 G’s and it unlocked. I did it again, and it locked up again. I left off the G’s and it unlocked. That’s not good. Up ’til then, we had lost six and didn’t know why. So I went to Gen. Boyd and said, ‘I have an airplane that’s got the same problem; we can finally find out what’s happening.’ Well, the bolt was installed in the aileron actuator the wrong way. It was supposed to be with the bolt head down, and the maintenance guys had thought it should be normal for it to be bolt head up. We went back to North American to verify that it was designed to be head down. I probably saved a few lives that way.”
OK, so you had an aircraft that had already killed a half-dozen men (who presumably themselves were pretty good pilots), and he set out to deliberately re-create the fault.
This was after he broke the sound barrier in a plane that had no throttle and had exhibited a lack of pitch control on previous tests in the trans-sonic realm. This was not some single moment of heroism; it was his approach to his vocation.
Oh, and he scored five kills in one mission.
And he spent several weeks in France doing E&E.
After that adventure, he shot down not one but two Me262 jet fighters.
He flew combat missions in Vietnam.
He broke the sound barrier at age 89.
I'd include more items on this list, but I apparently have some dust in both eyes.
High Flight
by John Gillespie Magee
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, – and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of – wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air…
Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew –
And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
by John Gillespie Magee
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, – and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of – wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air…
Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew –
And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
If you like Hoover and you haven’t seen it, Flying the Feathered Edge is a good documentary.
I was at the Edwards AFB airshow for the 40th anniversary of his feat. He broke the sound barrier in an F-4 that day to commemorate the day. One of my fondest childhood memories. RIP Brig Gen Yeager.
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