Makes me want to go watch the first half of “The Right Stuff”...again...for the umteenth time!
Atta boy, Chuck!
Ya got some Beeman’s?
Yeager was portrayed in The Right Stuff by Sam Shepard. To me it was a great performance and a fantastic movie.
He broke the sound barrier with a broken arm. He had to use a cut down broomstick handle to lock the hatch.
60 yrs ago or 64 years ago /
No, big difference. Chuck Yeager piloted the first supersonic flight. A lot of engineers developed the aircraft that was capable of making the first supersonic flight. It was a huge team effort of which Yeager was the visible icon. But it could have been anyone else, including the Bell test pilot who went on strike for more money and didn't get to make the first flight.
The Wright Brothers did it all - research, developmenmt, test flights, manufacturing and design, pilot training, and then finally they flew it themselves. In 1903 there were only two pilots in the entire world. And only two airplane designers. All named Wright.
TRS
Awesomeness. First officially recorded breaking of the sound barrier in level flight, although others claim, and it is plausible, that they did so briefly in other aircraft while in a powered dive, before Yeager did the level flight one in the X1.
One of my childhood heroes!
My sister was part of Public Relations at Edwards back when he visited the place in later years. She handled all kinds of requests, including requests for his autographed picture. He was long gone when the requests came in, so she signed his name and sent them off.
Days later she realized she had spelled his last name “Yaeger”. Nobody ever complained.