TOPIC: RIP Chuck Yeager

Today the Guardian is reporting the death of CY with a long obit. Yeager Obituary and and excellent collection of pictures.
Yeager pics

Many thanks Terry, for the link with splendid photos. I have Yeager's autobiography .... what a guy!



My own BellXS-1 flew very well indeed, and I still have a kit to make another one. Perhaps in honour of Yeager we should organise a mass launch of X-1 models at Old Warden next year.

rogersimmonds wrote: Many thanks Terry, for the link with splendid photos. I have Yeager's autobiography .... what a guy!


My own BellXS-1 flew very well indeed, and I still have a kit to make another one. Perhaps in honour of Yeager we should organise a mass launch of X-1 models at Old Warden next year.

That would be rather special.

Is there a picture somewhere of your X-1?

Since you ask, here is one of me at Middle Wallop in 2015. The photo was taken by the estimable Howard.



It was destroyed in a freak accident when it was shot out of my hand by a passing T-38! I do have another one - all I have to do is to make it!

more yeager

The Guardian seem to be going to town on the 'worlds greatest test pilot' today and this one is rather better.

My college, Franz Mannling, former Luftwaffe F4 pilot did his flight training in the USA. Yeager gave a speech at the accademy on graduation day. Said Franz, "he was damned old then!"

website

Roger adds,

before we all go a little too overboard with praise for an undoubtedly great man, us Brits might want to (respectfully) point out that (a) George Welch probably broke the sound barrier in an XP-86 Sabre before Yeager, and (b) Eric 'Winkle' Brown also has claims to be the 'World's greatest test pilot'.

But a mass launch of XS-1 models at Old Warden is definitely something we should plan for!

And then there's this German guy, Mutke who may have been first in April 1945 in a Me262