I just seen where Chuck Yeager has passed. First man to break the sound barrier! War Hero also!

2012 flight in a F-15, when he was 89! Even got special permission to go super sonic to commemorate the 65th anniversary of his 1947 fight! Sitting in that F-15, completely relaxed, just like he still did it every day!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y73tnUn6ETY

Thanks for posting this, I missed it. Minor clarification: he was a passenger on the 65th anniversary flight, but pilot for the 50th and 55th anniversaries. Amazing man who lived at the perfect time.

Dale

Indeed, he had a profound positive effect on aviation.

Yes, I remember Chuck Yeager. A real American hero, and the first man to break the sound barrier with the Bell X-1 rocket plane during his famous 1947 flight.

I somehow missed this news. Being a WVa native I have heard about him all my life. He was born in the county adjacent to mine. Of coarse the airport just two or three miles from my house is named 'Yeager; airport. - Don

I read his autobiography. One thing that stuck out was how he described his excellent eyesight. He said that he could pick out enemy planes way before any other pilots could see them and presumably before the enemy could see him. This gave him a better chance to maneuver into the most advantageous position for a dogfight. My brother, an optometrist, told me yes, this is a thing, that very few people have almost hawk-like vision.

Here is a photo of Chuck and I taken at the US Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine in 1995. Chuck was there for his flight physical.

I read a book about European Army Air Corp aces and one of the guys they talked about was Chuck Yeager. His attention to detail stuck out to me. He said the first bit of info he looked for when briefing for a mission was what altitude contrails formed at for that mission. One, so he knew to stay below that level and not give his flight away and two, if he seen contrails suddenly form or disappear, he would then know what altitude those aircraft were at and if they were climbing or diving. Also he would not perform victory rolls when he got back to base. He felt that it was unnecessary and dangerous if you had battle damage and didn't realize it.

Thanks!
Richard

First time I saw a jet, I shot it down.
What a guy.

Yes, one of my heroes, along with Scott Crossfield and Bob Hoover.

I read when he had made his way back to safety after being shot down behind enemy lines during WWII he has gained weight!

My brother got his autograph for me at a local airshow back in the early 90s. I had a picture of his P-51 and we heard that he was in the VIP section. So my brother being a ballsy 10 year old wanders into the VIP tent with all of the military brass and asks for Chuck. Someone in a uniform took my brother to chuck and said " Chuck, this young man wants to ask you something". My brother asks for his autograph and Chuck refuses (he did not like to give autographs and could be very brash about it). The men in the military uniforms, likely officers, egged him on and gave him grief about it. So Chuck relented and autographed my postcard of Glamorous Glennis.

His autobiography is a good read. I missed out on seeing him speak at EAA AirVenture as he stopped attending before I started going.

That eyesight thing intrigued me, with my eyesight being very nearsighted. Yeager himself said it was 20/7, and could see enemy planes 50 miles out, far further than the enemy could see him, a terrific advantage.

https://twitter.com/genchuckyeager/stat ... 45?lang=en

He also shot a Deer at 600 yds.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Yea ... 20(550%20m).

I thought the best Human vision possible was 20/20. But no, apparently the best ever recorded was an Aborigine Man with 20/5 vision. An Eagle has the same acuity, the Hawk the best at 20/2.

https://www.moorestowneye.com/2017/11/2 ... eet%20away!

I also had no idea what eyesight rating meant. A 20/20 vision is the standard Human unaided vision where an average person with normal sight can see fine detail out to 20 ft. A person with 20/40 vision can see the detail out to 20 ft that a person with 20/20 can see out to 40 ft. A person with 20/10 vison can see the detail at 20 ft that a person with 20/20 can only see to 10 ft. The standard eyesight test is the Snellen Chart. From 20 feet away a person with normal eyesight can make out the 20/20 size letters, but no smaller.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_chart

People who have that, I guess it's one of those gifts bestowed on those certain few. My own brother is nearsighted and wears glasses, but in his younger days had superior night vison. With just starlight, he could see his way through the otherwise pitch black, thick, dark woods, where the rest of us would stumble or face plant trees for need a flashlight or a night vision device. The gift has faded with age.

Hello Ed,
what great Photo of you and chuck !.
Yes I agree with you guys Chuck was a hero who I looked up to as a kid .
He will for sure be missed .

Sincerely Rich