Chuck Yeager Passes On

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SamR

Joined Mar 19, 2019
5,031
Chuck Yeager, Test Pilot Who Broke the Sound Barrier, Is Dead at 97.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/07/...I3lwceX7riSJl5UAcgVgmHTf9hUnxh20OmaCdNw9Wddzs

He served under an uncle of mine Major General Hugh Boyd Manson who commanded the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California during the 60s. The General and Chuck were not on the best of terms as Hugh thought he was a bit too much of a maverick and was reportedly the only commanding officer to ever issue Chuck a Reprimand after some reckless on the ground activity that resulted in several damaged aircraft that Chuck somehow collided with that were parked. There were quite a few family tales of the General Vs. Chuck's exploits. One is that Chuck did love to fly and his idea of Off-Base Time was to check out an airplane and spend his time off flying around the country from base to base.
 

WBahn

Joined Mar 31, 2012
29,976
Many of the great pilots were what today would be called rogue pilots. Jimmy Doolittle spent quite a bit of time discussing that very thing in his very-excellent autobiography and made a strong case for both how pilots with that rogue attitude were critical to the initial development of air power and air tactics while today (well, by the time he wrote the book some three decades ago) those same pilots not only would not be tolerated, but that they shouldn't be. He included himself in that list. I only met Yeager once and did little more than exchange pleasantries with him; would have loved to have had the opportunity to just sit and chat (and mostly listen) to him for a few hours.
 
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