Space History for February 13: Chuck Yeager!

[CalliArcale]

On February 13, 1923, Brigadier General Charles E Yeager (better known as "Chuck") was born. This makes him 83 today, so say a happy birthday for him. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> Yeager was born in Myra, West Virginia and enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1941. He began pilot training the following year. He was deployed to the European theater in World War II, flying a P-51 starting in November of 1943. He scored two kills (an ME-109 and an HE-111K) before being shot down over occupied France. The Maquis (French resistence) helped him escape to Spain, from whence he travelled to Gibralter and eventually got back to England in 1944. He flew 56 more missions and shot down eleven more German aircraft. He also developed a startling reputation for his vision: Yeager was able to see approaching German aircraft up to five minutes before other pilots could see them. I have no idea if his vision is still this acute today, but in his heyday he was one of those rare people capable of seeing a crescent Venus with the naked eye. After the war was over, he became a flight instructor and then became a test pilot. It was through this experience that he came to be selected for the Bell X-1 program. On October 14, 1947, he flew the X-1 and fired its rocket engine. The aircraft was carried slung under the belly of a bomber and Yeager had the strenuous and hair-raising job of squirming from the bomber to the X-1 in flight and at altitude! He obviously made the transfer all right, because he then became the first human being to break the sound barrier. He later made the first piloted ground takeoff of a rocketplane, and also became the first human to break Mach 2.5. In the 50s, he returned to active military service, commanding several squadrons. In 1962, he became commandant of the Aerospace Research Pilot School, which trained all astronauts at the time. He continued to fly experimental and research aircraft, nearly getting killed in 1963 when he lost control <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[john_316]

Chuck is the man!!!!<br /><br /><br />Happy Birthday Chuck!!!!!<br /><br /><br /><img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br />

 

[jschaef5]

He seems to be at EAA Airventure Oshkosh every year, and its always good to see him there, helping out with young eagles. He still continues to fly the youth of today to get them interested in flight. Could you imagine having your first flight with Chuck Yeager as the pilot!!! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[mcs_seattle]

Wouldn't it be great to see Chuck Yeager get a sentimental seat on one of the last space shuttle flights?

 

[sorehed]

I'm not sure Yeager would accept a seat on the shuttle anyway unless he could be convinced there was a valid operational reason for him. I saw him on television when John Glenn took a shuttle ride, and while he spoke well about Glenn, he thought Glenn's shuttle ride was a waste of resources.

 

[spacefire]

who remembers CYAC?<br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>http://asteroid-invasion.blogspot.com</p><p>http://www.solvengineer.com/asteroid-invasion.html </p><p> </p> </div>

 

[CalliArcale]

While I'd hate to put words in Yeager's mouth, my guess is that he'd prefer to fly an airplane to a rocket. Aviation is quite clearly his true love. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[drwayne]

Yeager talks in one of his books about the confidence that he had in Jack Ridley, and he gives a hypothetical in which he is to take off an aircraft, and Jack tells him<br /><br />"No Sweat Chuck, I left you six inches"<br /><br />and he says he would respond in a heartbeat something to the effect of:<br /><br />"Let's do it"<br /><br />He manages, far better than my synopsis, to capture the excellence and trust that can exist between two professionals that still brings a tear to my eye when I really think about it.<br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>

 

[explorer11]

I got to meet Yeager at a lecture once. Wow. His story (as told in the book gone movie The Right Stuff) is what got me interested in flight when I was little boy. Everyone said the sound barrier could never be broken, and then little old Chuck Yeager does it no-problem-o. Getting to meet him was certianly one of the high points of my life.

 

[n_kitson]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>my guess is that he'd prefer to fly an airplane to a rocket<p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br />Wasn't the X-1 a rocket? <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" />

 

[n_kitson]

Post deleted by N_Kitson

 

[shoogerbrugge]

rocket engine yup, <br /><br />but it had lift devices, the common thing on all aircraft. Propulsion doesn't define aircraft, lift devices do.

 

[jschaef5]

That looks awesome. All the X-planes and such out there would be neat to see.<br /><br />s_g u ever go up to EAA Oshkosh? although thats more experimental/homebuilts but theres tons of warbirds. Theres always a NASA hanger up there, i wonder what center goes up there or if some from all over do it. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[sorehed]

Y. and I are hoping to be there this year, News. We'll look for you. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" />

 

[sorehed]

I hadn't thought about it, but you're right.

 

[jschaef5]

I am in that percent that hasn't heard the boom. I have heard the harrier up there and a few years back they had 2 B-1B bombers up there and they did a fast low flight. It sure seemed like they broke the sound barrier. I couldn't hear them till they were right above us and they had to have been no more than 200 feet up. The ground shook. It was insane. I can't even imagine being an enemy seeing them coming in. Its deathly silent then RAWRRRRRRRRRRR.<br /><br /><br />I have been to EAA every year for as long as I can remember. Its only an hour and a half drive from home. Go up before sunrise and then leave after the theater in the woods(last year Rutan and Branson were there giving a talk). Great times. Last year was the first year I went down to the seaplane area. It was way to windy to land seaplanes that day though so I didn't get to see any actually landings.<br /><br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>