RIP, Chuck Yeager.

[Argent 88]

There, I said it first, 8:00 pm mountain time. 11/ 7/ 2020.  Because I follow these things, and I know some of  his distant family. He was an American Hero. First to break the sound barrier. I have his autographed book about his life.

[ironglows]

...A great American..R.I.P.

[Argent 88]

He never made it to the Mercury project, but he wanted to.

[Doublebass73]

I could listen to Chuck talk for hours, especially about hunting. He was an interesting man. I loved hearing him talk about walking to school at age 6 in rural WV with a .410 shotgun. They had a gun rack in his first grade classroom and all the boys would bring their guns to school so they could hunt squirrels on their way home from school and bring home dinner.

[Bob Riebe]

In one of my books on the Soviet Air Force, one former pilot said that when they were in flight school, when Yeager was stationed i Germany, if things turned hostile and they had to deal with enemy pilots , there were NOT to try to dogfight, period,  pilots like Yeager will shoot you out of the sky.

[Argent 88]

And he broke the sound barrier in the Bell X-1 with a broken rib. Something he never told the flight surgeon.
He used a wooden stick to help him control the aircraft.

[Argent 88]

News reel, back when news was real.

[Argent 88]

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/09/20/chuck-yeager-first-person-break-sound-barrier-two-broken-ribs/

[Bob Riebe]

97 years is a good run, especially considering he was rated high enough to fly solo supersonic aircraft late into the nineties says a lot.

On October 14, 1997, on the 50th anniversary of his historic flight past Mach 1, he flew a new Glamorous Glennis III, an F-15D Eagle, past Mach 1. The chase plane for the flight was an F-16 Fighting Falcon piloted by Bob Hoover, a longtime test, fighter and aerobatic pilot who had been Yeager's wingman for the first supersonic flight.
 At the end of his speech to the crowd in 1997, Yeager concluded, "All that I am ... I owe to the Air Force."[70] Later that month, he was the recipient of the Tony Jannus Award for his achievements.

I believe it not till the oughts that he officially, officially, i.e. don't call me cause I won't call you, retired from any aeronautical concerns.

[Argent 88]

Those early test pilots were cowboys, they talked like cowboys, they acted like cowboys. And that's all it took.

[Doublebass73]

In one of my books on the Soviet Air Force, one former pilot said that when they were in flight school, when Yeager was stationed i Germany, if things turned hostile and they had to deal with enemy pilots , there were NOT to try to dogfight, period,  pilots like Yeager will shoot you out of the sky.

In the interview I saw where Chuck Yeager was talking about hunting he mentioned how growing up winghooting with shotguns helped him immensely with dogfighting because he learned the concept of leading the target.

[Mule 11]

I could listen to Chuck talk for hours, especially about hunting. He was an interesting man. I loved hearing him talk about walking to school at age 6 in rural WV with a .410 shotgun. They had a gun rack in his first grade classroom and all the boys would bring their guns to school so they could hunt squirrels on their way home from school and bring home dinner.

My Grandfather was one of those little boys in West Virginia. He had to keep track of his shells. If he missed his dad would give him a beating. He told me ( you don’t know how many times I’d be out there waiting till dark hoping to catch two squirrels kissing).

[Doublebass73]

I could listen to Chuck talk for hours, especially about hunting. He was an interesting man. I loved hearing him talk about walking to school at age 6 in rural WV with a .410 shotgun. They had a gun rack in his first grade classroom and all the boys would bring their guns to school so they could hunt squirrels on their way home from school and bring home dinner.

My Grandfather was one of those little boys in West Virginia. He had to keep track of his shells. If he missed his dad would give him a beating. He told me ( you don’t know how many times I’d be out there waiting till dark hoping to catch two squirrels kissing).

That's a tough old generation right there.

[BUGEYE]

I could listen to Chuck talk for hours, especially about hunting. He was an interesting man. I loved hearing him talk about walking to school at age 6 in rural WV with a .410 shotgun. They had a gun rack in his first grade classroom and all the boys would bring their guns to school so they could hunt squirrels on their way home from school and bring home dinner.

The kids at my one room school did the same except we all used rifles.

Anyhow, I would loved to have bought him a cup of coffee and listened to a REAL HERO talk about anything he wanted to talk about.
Very few men has half his guts and he was one of my very few hero’s.   RIP Chuck.