The Right Stuff & Chuck Yeager’s NF-104 incident

NF-104 Going Up — The NF-104 Starfighter going up.

Chuck Yeager approaches NF-104 — All suited up: Yeager approaches the NF-104 Starfighter prior to his flights on 10 December 1963.

General Yeager wrote the NF-104 part in The Right Stuff. Tom Wolfe wasn’t quite getting it from their interview.

The production team asked General Yeager to re-enact his NF-104 flat spin scene.

He had choice words for them which ended in an emphatic “No! Anyone who tries will kill themselves.” Then Col Yeager felt he got off easy with his face burns and over 100 stitches. He not only lived, he got back on flying status and without the usual terrible burn scars.

Unfortunately, he was right. The production team got another pilot to re-enact the NF-104 flying and that pilot augured in. He wasn’t so lucky.

c. GCYI

Posted in Adventures with Chuck, Aviation, The Right Stuff, Top Gun/Maverick