Uncategorized – Page 6 – The Chuck Yeager Foundation

A New Christmas Poem by Anonymous (not me)

By Victoria Yeager / December 22, 2013

A Different Christmas Poem The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light, I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight. My wife was asleep, her head on my chest, My daughter beside me, angelic in rest. Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white, Transforming the yard to a winter delight. The…

Without an Abort – Mission to South Korea – Pueblo Flap

By Victoria Yeager / December 22, 2013

From General Chuck Yeager: After the US Navy ship, the Pueblo, was taken by the North Koreans in 1968, we took off from South Carolina and 17 hours later, my whole wing was in South Korea without an abort. That mission led to my becoming a General. On the way, we hit the tankers off…

Coupling in Aircraft — A Complex Subject Made Simple by Robert Kempel

By Victoria Yeager / December 14, 2013

Coupling in Aircraft — A Complex Subject Made Simple What is a simple explanation for inertia coupling? Airplanes move above the Earth and have on occasion displayed large complex motions in three-dimensional atmospheric space. To conduct analyses, to bring understanding, and order out of chaos we engineers assign what might seem to be an arbitrary…

My First & Only Cruise: Yeager Going to War (WWII) on HMS Queen Elizabeth

By Victoria Yeager / December 9, 2013

General Yeager tells this story: 1943: Shortly before Christmas, we left for England and war. Just a couple nights before, we had feasted on the antelope I had herded and shot cleanly with a P-39. Far better than spam or powdered eggs, it would be our last good meal for a long time. As the…

COL SPICER – ALMOST GOT ME KILLED IN WWII

By Victoria Yeager / December 2, 2013

From General Chuck Yeager: Man, it was close. See, what happened was: Because I had exceptional eyes, even though I was a junior officer, I flew my first mission as 357th Fighter Group Commander Col Spicer’s wingman, Col Spicer was fearless, loved to dogfight without concern for personal risk or his wingman’s apparently. With bristling…

DECLASSIFIED-From Russia with Jackie Cochran – Yeager Oral History – Part 1

By Victoria Yeager / August 31, 2013

Parts of General Yeager’s Oral History with the Air Force have been declassified. Here is the first installment: Yeager: I was getting a little bit worried they were going to put her (Jackie Cochran) in jail. (laughter) I was about ready to go home anyway. So we whistled out of there to Spain and then…

Huntin’ for Bear – 1947

By Victoria Yeager / August 13, 2013

From General Yeager: “Pancho’s was the scene of many a wild night. And it was also the staging area for many great adventures. One of the most memorable was during the sound barrier flights. At 2am on a Saturday night, and a bunch of us were still at the bar, when Russ Schleeh, a great…

“Chuck, I can’t see in here!”

By Victoria Yeager / July 10, 2013

General Yeager: I never lost a pilot while flying chase, but there were many close calls. From Carl Bellinger: Flying chase was an art that not many test pilots bothered to perfect. There’s no glory flying chase – no goal assist, no brownie points. But a skilled and dedicated chase pilot often meant the difference…

From Chuck Yeager: Working with the Maquis (Shot Down in France Part II)

By Victoria Yeager / March 23, 2013

March 20 ’44 Spend most the day working on Gabriel’s old engine in the shed. Gabriel is happy I’ve got something to keep me busy. He thinks it will keep me busy the rest of the war – that it will never work. March 20-21, ’44.Night: Gabriel knows I’m itching to do something in war.…

From Chuck Yeager. 1944 Shot down France

By Victoria Yeager / March 17, 2013

March 4, 1944 1st daylight raid over Berlin. Weather was stinkin’. Only 2 P-51s guarding a box of bombers. They hit their targes. I shot down my first enemy aircraft (a/c). Woo hoo. I was out of ammo returning home. I espied the stragglers of the bombers in formation heading home. I called ahead. “Can…

Fishing on the Tsiu – First 2 days

By Victoria Yeager / September 8, 2010

We arrived on the spit between the Pacific Ocean and the Tsiu River in the rain by Gooney Bird, the DC 3 -which is always a great ride rain or shine. That afternoon, many went out to fish, including Gen Yeager. I slept and read – really needed it.Gen Yeager came back quite happy – he had caught…