Adventures with Chuck

Chuck Yeager: Where I Was on December 7, 1941 When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

General Chuck Yeager’s words: I had entered the Army Air Corps September 9, 1941, fresh out of high school and a summer of working with Dad, chores, huntin’, swimmin’ and fishin’. On December 7, 1941; I was stationed at Moffett Field in California, still a crew chief, although I had applied for pilot training. Jimmy…

November 23, 1943: Off to war. And England.

November 23, 1943: Off to war. In General Chuck Yeager’s words: We got on the Queen Elizabeth to cross the Atlantic Ocean to war. There were 25,000  – one third a-sleeping, one third a-eating, one third a-puking. Then we switched every 8 hours. One guy asked, “Aren’t you feeling okay?” The other one said, “What?…

1947: Recording the Shock Wave on the X-1

Ridley put holes in the horizontal stabilizer and connected them to a recorder. Each flight he could see what the shock wave was doing. c. GCYI

Broken Ribs Before Breaking the Sound Barrier

October 12-13, 1947: In Chuck Yeager’s own words: Sunday night (October 12, 1947), after eating dinner at Pancho’s, Glennis and I decided to go riding. Glennis suggested a race back to the corral. As I got very close, in the lead, I saw someone had closed the gate. My horse and I pulled about 3…

Capt Yeager meets Howard Hughes

General Yeager in his own words: “I read this today: ‘Sept 13, 1935 – Aviator Howard Hughes, Jr., of Houston, set a new airspeed record of 352 mph with his H-1 airplane (Winged Bullet).’    Hughes helped design and flew the Spruce Goose. Once. November 2, 1947. History re that is here: The Largest Flying Boat…

It Has a Handbook Doesn’t It? F-100 and Crossfield

I had flown the F-100 a lot and had delivered one to Scott Crossfield to fly. I asked him if he wanted me to check him out. No, it has a handbook, doesn’t it? said Crossfield arrogantly. Me: Be my guest. And I walked out. A few days later, Paul Bickle, Assistant Chief of the…

Training Jackie Cochran-to Become 1st Woman to Break Sound Barrier

I first met Jackie Cochran in 1947, not long after I broke the sound barrier, in Secretary of the Air Force Scott Symington’s office. She was a tall, blonde woman in her forties. “I’m Jackie Cochran,” she said pumping my hand. “Great job, Captain Yeager. We’re all proud of you.” She invited me to lunch…

B-51 – Chuck Yeager & Russ Schleeh

Even Col Boyd never got to fly it – although he wanted to do so, he never found the time. In the ’50s, I used to fly it cross country to get home to Hamlin – speedy for its day. Three engines. Russ Schleeh and I were two of the first to fly it. Only…

World War II: Waiting Orders to Go Back on Combat

While waiting to get back on combat, after returning from being shot down, I was doing some maintenance and training the new guys. I was up in the air mock dogfighting with a couple of new guys when Base Ops called: Are your guns hot? Me: Yes. BO: Go out over the North Sea, there’s…

Tiede Refuses to I.D. me and Almost Gets US Both Court-martialed.

After returning to England from being shot down, working with the Maquis and French Underground, escaping over the Pyrenees full of snow, I was taken to a panel of three colonels whose job is to determine if I am who I say I am and not a spy. They brought a guy from my squadron…

Chuck Yeager – F-100D

I usually flew 6590 – a two seater. He could do the flight planning….and I could fly. But this was a single seater.   c. GCYI

March 1944 – Escaping the Germans – Pyrenees – Slow Going

Exhausted from climbing for 2 days and a night in three foot thick snow, close in trees, not much to eat, we fell asleep in a hut we came upon. It seemed like minutes later when we heard gunfire. The Germans had spotted the other guys socks he had hung out to dry. Shoot, then…