R.i.p. Chuck Yeagar - First Man To Fly Supersonic

Sadly Chuck Yeagar has passed aged 97. One of the coolest and the then best US air force test pilots, In 1947 Chuck broke the sound barrier in a Bell X-1 jet plane (allegedly based on 'stolen' British plans).

Breaking the sound barrier.

Chuck's story is boys own stuff. He is credited with 13 kills in WWII European air campaign including an ME 262 jet fighter, and was shot down over France and escaped back to England.

His early contribution to the US space programme cannot be underestimated. Despite being the coolest and very best of the test pilots he was omitted from astronaut training for lack of a college degree. Well worth reading is Tom Wolfe's 'The Right Stuff' and also the movie of the same name about the early years before the Moon landing.

Clip from The Right Stuff. Chuck hadn't disclosed to the bosses that he'd cracked two ribs in a horse riding accident a couple of days earlier and couldn't close the cockpit door without the aid of a cut down broom handle.

Right Stuff Documentary

 

I'm afraid that being an alien disqualifies him.

 

Hence the name painted on his plane, Glamorous Glennis.

I've been an on-line friend, for some years now, of his granddaughter. He inspired her to become a pilot, and following in his footsteps she was heavily involved as one of the test pilots on the latest NASA program.