A true American Hero! Hard to believe, with the kinds of things he did, that he lived so long. Sad day and befitting on the loss of such a great man. RIP Chuck!
He led a colorful life and his accomplishments for aviation are amazing. A couple of things I recall about him was a commercial he was in. He was called "a part time test pilot, full time good ol' boy". I think that was a beer commercial back in the 70's or early 80's. The was also a story he and someone else "smuggled" some type of trout...maybe golden trout??.....and released them into a mountain lake or stream. Some folks might not know he was shot down in WWII and a WWII ace. He was a heck of a man.
He definitely was the definition of “The Right Stuff”.
Hearing the news reminded me of this interview from a while back. He talks about things like losing control at Mach 2.5 to getting shot down in France, etc. like he was talking about crossing the street.
I had the pleasure of spending a few days with him at a trade show. A company I worked for was doing a promotion with Bushnell and he was working with them as a staff shooter/ personalty.
What a Tower of a Man ... just watched Right Stuff two days ago, and the best part of the whole thing is the Yeager stuff. (The actual Mercury astronauts were not pleased with the movie due to its depiction of Gus Griscom).
Anyway ... I got to looking at some stuff about him after the movie. Seems that after Glennis died, he ended up marrying a gal about 35 years younger ... basically younger than his kids ... and there was a big family battle. Like most of Chuck's battles, he won. But what a thing to deal with in an otherwise glorious life.
I guided him and 2 of his friends on a cow elk hunt out of Douglas, WY one year. He was a pretty good shot but bucking the snow had gotten tough for him so most of our time was spent in my truck. He got a big cow running up a steep hill at about 200 yards.
After the shot he told me he wasn't going up to the cow. Glad the hill was steep enough to slide her down.
I met him at Dallas Safari Club a couple of times. I asked him if it's true what I learned about him in 7th grade science class...
"Colonel Yeager, is it true what I learned about you in my 7th grade science class?"
"What's that, son?"
"That before your legendary flight you went out the night before, got drunk, fractured your ribs, and smuggled a broomstick with you to close the cockpit?"
When the question comes up, who would you like to have dinner with? Chuck Yeager is always my first choice. The book Yeager is a great story about him!
Unreal that he worked his way from Private to General. I could listen to him talk about planes for hours he was a super smart man. Heard an interview years ago stating he found many hunting spots by his ability to scout terrain by flying all over the country.
