Chuck Yeager just broke the sound barrier for the last time. 96, had a great run. A true american hero. General Yeager sir, I salute you, god
speed!
yeah, i know it doesnt have anything to do with BajaJZ - 12-7-2020 at 09:26 PM
Wow. Hell of a life. pacificobob - 12-8-2020 at 07:43 AM
he had the "right stuff" indeed. btw, the book by that name is a great read.AKgringo - 12-8-2020 at 09:11 AM
He was a local hero here in Grass Valley, and lived just west of town. One of the many jets that were assigned to him is on display at the local
airport.
Aside from being a famous flyer, he was known around here as being a great guy to know!Mother of Dragons - 12-8-2020 at 09:12 AM
He was a local hero here in Grass Valley, and lived just west of town. One of the many jets that were assigned to him is on display at the local
airport.
Aside from being a famous flyer, he was known around here as being a great guy to know!
My sister’s real dad was his captain on Eagle for forever. I hear he is a great guy.thebajarunner - 12-8-2020 at 09:36 AM
Most trips to Baja we drive right by Edwards AFB
and always remember to look up and remember that great guy
As a fellow pilot (o.k. just a single engine prop guy, but we are a brotherhood) he was a real hero.
My long time secretary's husband was the head pilot of the Thunderbirds, twice in fact. He revered the guy,
RIP - you have busted your final barrier.....John Harper - 12-8-2020 at 11:01 AM
Don't forget he was a big backcountry trout fisherman as well.
JohnLee - 12-8-2020 at 08:46 PM
''.... the most righteous of all the possessors of the right stuff.''
Tom Wolfe about Chuck Yeager. [/url]LancairDriver - 12-8-2020 at 11:32 PM
I was out out Edward’s when he took his last supersonic ride in an F15 that had been an annual thing he did every year as part of their airshow. He
was really frail then and it looked like it would probably be his last one. He was unable to climb the ladder up to the c-ckpit and had a couple guys
pushing him up by the butt to the back seat. They did break the sound barrier and the crowd loved it.
Chuck and the early test pilots were somewhat dismissive of the early astronauts. One comment he made that I got a kick out of was when he commented
they had to sweep the monkey dung off the seat of the space capsule. That was after the monkey was the first one in space.mtgoat666 - 12-9-2020 at 02:59 AM
I was out out Edward’s when he took his last supersonic ride in an F15 that had been an annual thing he did every year as part of their airshow. He
was really frail then and it looked like it would probably be his last one. He was unable to climb the ladder up to the c-ckpit and had a couple guys
pushing him up by the butt to the back seat. They did break the sound barrier and the crowd loved it.
Chuck and the early test pilots were somewhat dismissive of the early astronauts. One comment he made that I got a kick out of was when he commented
they had to sweep the monkey dung off the seat of the space capsule. That was after the monkey was the first one in space.
Seems to me that the real heros are the scientists and engineers that developed the planes and technology. The pilots were just drivers.
In this case the driver was also an actor, as the drivers of that era were PR tools of the military-industrial complex. PR guys crafted an image of
daring pilots,.... pilots acted the part.
dravnx - 12-9-2020 at 08:28 AM
The goat never disappoints. thebajarunner - 12-9-2020 at 08:57 AM
Pathetic isn't he
Never posted a photo
Never posted a trip report
but he knows it all, yep, just ask him
Sad....AKgringo - 12-9-2020 at 08:59 AM
Imagine the courage of those scientists and engineers, sending their drivers into a kill or be killed situation with the Japanese drivers!
Sort of like a big board game, with their reputations on the line!
Goat, if you want to throw out kudos to the American military industrial capability, go right a head. Just don't try to compare the combat veterans
to commuters!Howard - 12-9-2020 at 01:08 PM
One of the true hero's from the greatest generation.
My deepest repsect forText General Yeager.
"He became a fighter ace in World War II, shooting down five German planes in a single day and 13 over all. In the decade that followed, he helped
usher in the age of military jets and spaceflight. He flew more than 150 military aircraft, logging more than 10,000 hours in the air."
[Edited on 12-9-2020 by Howard]mtgoat666 - 12-9-2020 at 02:47 PM
Chuck Yeager was a true hero. Just like John McCain.
RIP
Not a very good comparison with John McCain. Yeager is well above McCain in patriotism and accomplishments IMHO. Thanks Pacifico. Now it’s fixed.
[Edited on 12-10-2020 by LancairDriver]pacificobob - 12-9-2020 at 03:42 PM
IMO...there, fixed it for you driver Lee - 12-9-2020 at 03:57 PM
Any military pilot flying combat sorties is a hero. Might have fear about the mission, but fly it anyway. Theses guys are volunteers. No
matter what they fly, it's volunteer.
Beyond that, Gen. Yeager was fearless. He was a trained test pilot and the first to break the sound barrier. Or else, he had fear but worked
through it. Every time he flew, his butt was on the line.
Who cares what the gov't thinks or trolls on this forum about the General. Pilots know.
I knew a fearless pilot back when. Bruce Miller was a Chief Flight Instructor and FAA Examiner where I was a student. He's the pilot in the IMAX
Stormchasers, flying a Schweizer 2-32.
kick back and enjoy a Chuck Yeager c-cktail....pineapple (or fruit juice of your choice) and....you guessed it, Jagermeister!
Question for the Goat
thebajarunner - 12-9-2020 at 05:17 PM
Since you are such an expert on military affairs......
What branch of the service were you in?
Where and when did you serve??
I will answer mine, then your turn
I was in gunnery on an aircraft carrier, the USS Boxer from 1958 through 1960.
Got my final honorable discharge in March 1963
OK, your turn,
Where and when???mtgoat666 - 12-9-2020 at 09:21 PM
Never and nowhere.
Don’t need to serve to form opinions about the military.
Just like you don’t need to be a civil servant or elected representative to have an opinion about government.
And you don’t need to play football to have an opinion about football.
And you don’t need to be an artist to have an opinion about art.LancairDriver - 12-12-2020 at 12:42 PM
You have to give credit where credit is due and it is best to realize some of our hero’s come with their share of issues attached, and Yeager had
his share. I have read a lot of what is available on him as well as knowing some people in the aviation community who knew him personally. There is no
denying he had a outsized pair of cajones and plenty of luck along the way. Today it is in vogue to call everyone you disagree with “racist” .I
had never heard of the incident cited here. I do know Yeager had an outsized ego and dismissed most of the other pilots who outdid him in
achievements. He dismissed the Rutan brothers around the world flight with their Voyager on one tank of gas as an insignificant achievement although
never since duplicated. Bob Hoover, also from the same era as Yeager, and backup pilot for the sound barrier campaign was unquestionably a much better
pilot than Yeager among pilots who knew flying skills when they saw them. The Reno Air Races have attracted some of the best pilots in the world to
compete in the fastest and most dangerous motor sport on the world every year, simply to test themselves amongst the best in the business. Astronauts,
military test pilots and many airline pilots regularly competed. When Yeager was asked why he never raced, he dismissed that as who wants to putt
around a track at a mere 500mph wing tip to wing tip when you have already broken the sound barrier. He never participated in air shows once it became
apparent there were many tough acts to follow out there. Apparently ignoring the fact that a grandmother could circle the earth at17,500 mph today.
Bob Hoover , who passed in the past few years, is acknowledged as probably the best pilot ever of anything that flys among those who are most
qualified to judge. He had a long career as a test pilot, air show pilot demonstrating N American Aviation’s products and leaving his military pilot
observers in awe at what they never knew their aircraft were capable of. Their are a ton of u tube videos of some of his flying achievements. Hoover
was known as a gentleman and very popular for mingling with the public. His book “Forever flying “ is a great read. Yeagers first wife Glennis,
raised their children while Chuck traveled around with some high profile women. She was his business manager after he retired and after she passed his
daughter took over management until Chuck was ambushed by a much younger woman who studied his daily running routine around Grass Valley and
“accidentally” bumped into him. They then proceeded to get married and to fire his daughter and disown all of his children and there was much
turmoil over that. When he was asked about that he said simply that he was horny. So as usual, there is much more to most story’s concerning our
hero’s. This doesn’t detract from their accomplishments. Andrew Jackson’s face on our currency is a good example of both sides of the good and
bad in this example.LancairDriver - 12-14-2020 at 12:41 AM
A little more sound barrier history. A long read but very interesting for those who follow Chuck Yeager and aviation history.
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