Chuck Yeager's life reads like a storybook. His aviation career started on the mechanic side, but he apparently decided to become a pilot after realizing that "pilots have beautiful girls on their arms". During his early exploits as a P-51 fighter pilot, he was shot down over France, but survived the bailout to be rescued by the French Resistance. He escaped over the mountains to Spain, carrying another wounded pilot (who he had to preform emergency surgery on in the field), and was reunited with Allied forces. He was able to talk his way back into a flying slot, and on October 12, 1944, shot down 5 Luftwaffe planes in a single engagement - two without even firing a shot at them (by colliding during evasive maneuvers). Later that November, he became one of the first pilots to shoot down a German ME-262 jet.
Chuck Yeager came home from WWII as a Double Ace, with 11 confirmed aerial victories.
At that point in their career, a pilot has had a pretty good run, so they should probably retire, right? Not Chuck.
On October 14, 1947, Chuck Yeager climbed into the cockpit of a Bell X-1 (named "Glamorous Glennis" - like all his other aircraft - after his wife), to attempt another first.
Up until this point, it was believed that an airplane couldn't move faster than sound without breaking apart. It showed an unbelievable amount of guts to want to prove that belief wrong, and it took a very special pilot to be willing to risk everything to shatter that belief. Chuck was that pilot.
The margin of error for that flight was incredibly slim, and when his drop plane released him well below the required speed, the attempt very nearly ended in disaster before it had even really started. But Chuck Yeager's piloting skill allowed him to keep the X-1 under control and begin his test run.
According to Yeager himself, the only indication that he had even crossed the Sound Barrier was a small blip on the airspeed indicator.
He did it.
His earlier exploits as a pilot had already likely ensured himself a spot in the history books, but this event highlighted him. Everyone would know the name Chuck Yeager.
He ushered in a new age of aviation, and he continued on to push the limits further and further. He faced death several times over the course of his career, but kept on keeping on. His story is legend.
On December 7, 2020, Chuck Yeager, one of the most legendary and fascinating people in the history of aviation, passed away at 97 years old.
From his autobiography: "I haven't yet done everything, but by the time I'm finished, I won't have missed much," he wrote. "If I auger in (crash) tomorrow, it won't be with a frown on my face. I've had a ball."
General Yeager, you have been an inspiration to pretty much every pilot I've ever known. Thank you.
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