News
Chuck Yeager Dead at 97
By Richard Goldstein A World War II fighter ace and Air Force general, he was, according to Tom Wolfe, “the most righteous of all the possessors of the right stuff.” Chuck Yeager, the most famous test pilot of his generation who was the first to break the sound barrier, and, thanks to Tom Wolfe, came to…
Watch a young Chuck Yeager test fly a stolen MiG-15
By Harold C. Hutchison | We Are the Mighty Brigadier General Chuck Yeager is best-known for being the first man to break the sound barrier. He was also a World War II ace and saw action in Vietnam as commanding officer of the 405th Tactical Fighter Wing, flying B-57s. But did you know that this aerial…
‘The Right Stuff’ blasts off for a Veterans Day screening in Hollywood
By Susan King The newly refurbished theater at the famed Hollywood American Legion Post 43 will be blasting off Veterans Day evening with a 35 mm screening of Philip Kaufman’s acclaimed 1983 film, “The Right Stuff.” Based on Tom Wolfe’s bestseller, the epic chronicled the early years of the U.S. race to space and the test…
Punch a Hole in the Sky: An Oral History of The Right Stuff
Wired.com, November 2019 As Chuck Yeager recently Tweeted: “Pretty good article on The Right Stuff”, this Wired.com article tells the story of the The Right Stuff movie which brought Tom Wolfe’s book to the big screen in 1983, telling the story of test pilots like Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier and launching toward the exosphere. Philip…
Air Force’s Test Pilot School celebrates semi-sesquicentennial anniversary
Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Chuck Yeager shares a conversation with Maj. Gen. Christopher Azzano, Air Force Test Center Commander, during U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School 75th anniversary celebration at Edwards Air Force Base, California, Sept. 21. Yeager is credited with being the first person to break the sound barrier in 1947 aboard a Bell X-1.…
Aviation’s ‘extreme’ goddess
By Matthew Cabe The girl was born Florence, but everyone called her Pancho. The nickname was earned, as one story goes, after she left her first husband, disguised herself as a man and boarded a ship that turned out to be running guns to Mexican revolutionaries. It’s likely the least interesting story from the life of Pancho…
71 years ago, Chuck Yeager smashed the sound barrier — here’s what it was like on the famous flight
By Christopher Woody Chuck Yeager began his career during World War II, flying as a private in the US Army Air Forces. In late 1942 he entered enlisted-pilot training and eventually became a P-51 fighter pilot. After the war, he held commands around the world, but Yeager, who turned 95 earlier this year, is best known for…
The Stunning Aerial Cinematography of JET PILOT
MORE THAN 65 YEARS AFTER IT WAS FILMED, JET PILOT MOVIE FEATURES SOME OF THE MOST SPECTACULAR AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY IN FILM HISTORY. Jet Pilot is a 1957 film directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring John Wayne and Janet Leigh. Written and produced by Jules Furthman and presented by Howard Hughes, the movie was filmed…
NASA’s Quiet Supersonic X-Plane Has a New Name
NASA’s experimental supersonic X-plane project has a new name: the X-59 QueSST. So, what’s in the name? Well, the “X-59” part is a nod back to American X-plane history, which kicked off with the world’s first supersonic plane, the Bell X-1, famously piloted by Chuck Yeager in 1947 when it broke the speed of sound. Yeager nicknamed the…
Today in History: The sound barrier was broken by a woman for the first time
By Blake Linder Female American pilot Jackie Cochran made history on this day when in 1953 she became the first woman to break the sound barrier.American pilot Jackie Cochran, who became the first woman to break the sound barrier 65 years ago today, owes some of her breakthrough success in the sky to a rather…
Sound Barrier Legends
By AviationWeek.com A remarkable reunion occurred recently at Edwards AFB, California when the two key veterans involved in the breaking of the sound barrier in 1947 returned to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the achievement. Meeting on stage on October 13, the day before the anniversary, were 94-year-old Brig. Gen (Ret.) Chuck Yeager, pilot of the…
Living Sound Barrier Legends
A remarkable reunion occurred recently at Edwards AFB, California when the two key veterans involved in the breaking of the sound barrier in 1947 returned to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the achievement. Meeting on stage on October 13, the day before the anniversary, were 94-year-old Brig. Gen (Ret.) Chuck Yeager, pilot of the experimental Bell…