Chuck Yeager

Major General Charles Elwood "Chuck" Yeager (born February 13, 1923 in Myra, Lincoln County, West Virginia) is a former World War II ace and test pilot. He is most famous for being the first human to undeniably travel faster than sound.

Related Topics:
Major General - February 13 - 1923 - Myra - Lincoln County - West Virginia - World War II - Ace - Test pilot

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Yeager was born into a poor family in West Virginia and joined the army in 1939, serving as an aircraft mechanic. He was selected for flight training in 1942 and soon showed outstanding natural talent as a pilot. Posted to the United Kingdom in 1944, Yeager flew P-51 Mustangs in combat, gaining one victory before he was shot down over France. He escaped to Spain without being captured and was soon flying with the 363rd Fighter Squadron once more, despite a strict policy that no escaped pilot should fly over enemy territory again.

Related Topics:
West Virginia - 1939 - Aircraft - 1942 - United Kingdom - 1944 - P-51 Mustangs - France - Spain - 363rd Fighter Squadron

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Yeager demonstrated outstanding eyesight, flying skills, and combat leadership; he distinguished himself by becoming the first American pilot to make "ace in a day"—he shot down five enemy aircraft in one mission, finishing the war with 12.5 recognized victories.

Related Topics:
American - Pilot - "ace in a day"

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Yeager remained in the Air Force (USAF) after the war, becoming a test pilot and eventually being selected to fly the rocket-powered Bell X-1 in a NACA program to research high-speed flight. Yeager broke the sound barrier on October 14, 1947, flying the experimental X-1 at Mach 1 at an altitude of 45,000 feet/13,700  m. Two nights before the scheduled date for the flight, he broke two ribs while riding a horse. He was so afraid of being removed from the mission that he went to a vet in a nearby town for treatment and only told his friend Jack Ridley about it. Ridley then worked up a device (really just the end of a broom handle) to allow Yeager to seal the hatch of the airplane. Yeager's X-1 is on display at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum.

Related Topics:
Air Force - Bell X-1 - NACA - Sound barrier - October 14 - 1947 - Mach - Smithsonian Institution - National Air and Space Museum

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He later went on to break many other speed and altitude records. He also was the first American pilot to fly a MiG-15 after its pilot defected to Japan with it. During the latter half of 1953, Yeager was involved with the USAF team that was working on the X-1A, an aircraft designed to surpass Mach 2 in level flight. However, on November 20, the NACA's Douglas Skyrocket and its pilot Scott Crossfield became the first team to reach double the speed of sound. After they were bested, Ridley and Yeager decided that they were going to beat Crossfield's speed record in a flight series that they dubbed "Operation NACA Weep." Not only did they beat Crossfield, but they did it in time to spoil some celebrations planned for the 50th anniversary of flight that were going to call him the fastest man alive.

Related Topics:
MiG-15 - Japan - 1953 - November 20 - Douglas Skyrocket - Scott Crossfield

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In 1962, he started the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School, which produced astronauts for NASA and the USAF. It was an accident in one of the school's NF-104s that put an end to his record attempts. Between December, 1963 and January, 1964, Yeager completed five flights in the NASA M2-F1 lifting body. In 1966, he took command of the 405th Fighter Wing, whose units were deployed in South Vietnam and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. There he racked up another 414 hours of combat time, mostly in a B-57 light bomber. In 1968, he was promoted to the elite rank of Brigadier General, and was assigned as the vice-commander of the Seventeenth Air Force in July of the following year.

Related Topics:
1962 - USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School - NASA - NF-104 - December - 1963 - January - 1964 - NASA M2-F1 - Lifting body - 1966 - 405th Fighter Wing - South Vietnam - B-57 - 1968 - Brigadier General - Seventeenth Air Force

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In 1975, following spells in Germany and Pakistan, he retired from the Air Force at Norton Air Force Base, but still spent time flying for the USAF and NASA as a consulting test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base.

Related Topics:
1975 - Norton Air Force Base - Edwards Air Force Base

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On October 14, 1997, on the 50th anniversary of his historic flight past Mach 1, he flew a new Glamorous Glennis, an F-15D past Mach 1, with Lt. Col. Troy Fontaine. He was chased by a F-16 piloted by Bob Hoover, famous air show pilot and the chase pilot for the first Mach 1 flight, who flew with Col. Jimmy Doolittle. This was Yeager's last official flight with the Air Force. At the end of his speech to the crowd he concluded, "All that I am...I owe to the Air Force." In 2005, Brigadier General Yeager was awarded a 2nd General's Star.

Related Topics:
October 14 - 1997 - F-15D - F-16 - Bob Hoover - Jimmy Doolittle

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Yeager, who never attended college and was often modest about his background, is considered to be one of the great pilots of all time. Despite his lack of higher education, he has been supportive of educational efforts in his home state. Marshall University has named its highest academic scholarship in his honor, the Society of Yeager Scholars. Additionally, Yeager Airport in Charleston, West Virginia, is named after him. Finally, just south of Charleston, West Virginia, the Interstate 77 bridge over the Kanawha River is named for General Chuck Yeager. He was the chairman of EAA's Young Eagle Program. Yeager served on the presidential commission that investigated the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger on STS-51-L.

Related Topics:
College - Marshall University - Society of Yeager Scholars - Yeager Airport - Charleston, West Virginia - Interstate 77 - Kanawha River - EAA - Young Eagle Program - Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' - STS-51-L

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Chuck now resides in Grass Valley, California.

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