Chuck Yeager

[sam]

I know Crossfield taxied into a hangar, because he told me all about it. His brakes failed.

[mustangdriver]

I think that Crossfield was an awsome pilot. But the aircraft into the hangar accident took place after Crossfiled shut his engine down and tried to hot dog the aircraft to a stop with no power. After the engine was shut down, he only had a few applications of brake to use. Once they were used up, he had no stopping power, and ran through the hangar door. After the accident, a sign was put up that said, "Yeager broke the sound barrier, and Crossfield broke the hangar door"

[sam]

Thats the Brakes! I think he had a reason for shutting it down but I cant remember.

[mustangdriver]

Yeah, I am not sure what the shutting down the engine was for, but I thought it was for a non-official reason. But now that is like 3rd party info, so I don't know if it is true.

[Hunter1]

Respect as a test pilot, YES, Respect as a person, I dont care for the man. Its one thing to be rude to other adults, however, I have seen him be rude to young kids who look up to him as a role model. I dont care who you are, there is just no excuse for it !

[sam]

OK

[mustangdriver]

I think that it falls under the category of a few ruined it for everyone else. I have heard several people talk about a kid getting an autograph, and then have it turn up on ebay a few days later. That isn't cool either. Who would I rather have my kid look up too? Chuck Yeager or a modern sports figure. I wil take Yeager. He is a good ol' boy so things are more simple to that life style. Some people may not like the fact that he tells ou how it is, whether you like it or not. I respect him more for that.

[michaelharadon]

Some people may not like the fact that he tells you how it is, whether you like it or not. I respect him more for that.

But he isn't, "telling it how it is". What he's doing is venting out his ego, and in so doing is telling things about himself that would be best left unsaid. No person, even St. Yeager, EVER does good to themselves, let alone anyone else, by being an a$$h01e, ESPECIALLY to children, the elderly, or the infirm.

[tom d. friedman]

i'd rather have my kids look up to a personalty jerk like yeager who served his country with honor & pride rather than some over paid, over sexed, over drugged, over pampered pro athelete jockstrap who finds it neccessary to rob liquor stores & deal drugs while being paid a mutlimillion dollar contract.

[muddyboots]

boy! I love this gossip column! It's much better than the religion thread or the democrats are pussys thread... And we can get away with it cause it's about warbirds, huh

[Hunter1]

I believe it was Mr. R.A. Bob Hoover who once said, always take time with the youngsters, as the few moments you spend with them might influence them for the rest of their lives.

Mustangdriver, I would bet the farm that the the MAJORITY of young guys and gals that Yeager has blown off in the past were not looking up to him so they could profit off of Ebay.

Yeager is and always be a national hero and I will always respect him for his service to our country in a time of WAR, however, my true heros will always be the likes of Robin Olds, Hoover, Borman, Don Strait, and countless others that I have been lucky enough in my life to see first hand take the time to share their wisdom and experience with a younger generation for ZERO compensation !

Henry the VIII was a legend and he chopped off many of heads ...heroism is all relative to individual prespective ! How we as humans conduct ourselves is what really defines us in the end.

Someone else whom flew the X-1 once said, it took balls not skill to flip the switch and ignite the rockets !

Just my 2 cents worth !

[mustangdriver]

Well, as far as the X-1 goes, Yeager himself said that it flew great when it was not full of fuel. I think once you hit .90 Mach on the ol meter, that it took skill. I actually think the different of kids. Having worked in a few museums, I have seen special events or visitors at the museum sign a bunch of stuff for kids. I have seen and heard these kids scramble to get all of the signatures from the men there, only to over hear many of them talk about how much the autograph is worth. I think that the few kids that attend flying camps like that at EAA or Young Eagles programs or at least show a real interest in aviation by joining some group is the minority of kids. I think the kids that are in programs like that are given the proper attention. I never said the man was a saint, he's a test pilot. But I think we all need to cut him some slack on here. Everyone seems real quick to trash an aviation hero here. I have seen people on here bash Yeager, Boyington, Earhart, Lindberg, Hoover,Robert Scott, Tuskegee Airmen, and countless others. I think that sucks.

[Jase]

To me, the big issue with Yeager is his lack of professionalism. Consider that, when he attends an event, it's because he's getting paid for it. Showing his a$$ by screaming at the volunteers, or refusing to sign an autograph for a kid, (which is basically WHY he's AT the event in the first place) is a total lack of professionalism. And these are things I have personally witnessed, not stuff I've heard thirdhand.

His accomplishments as a test pilot in no way shape or form allow him to be unprofessional. If he doesn't want to deal with people seeking autographs, then he ought to stay home. I've seen a hella bunch of people, including pilots, infantry guys, etc, sit and sign autographs and talk to the public for hours on end in the blazing sun at airshows, and except for Charlie Yeager, have never seen any of them lose their temper.

Look, MustangDriver, I've worked a lot of airshows over the last decade. I know firsthand what it's like to bake your brains out on a hot airshow ramp hawking t-shirts, dogtags, and other froo froo. By the end of the weekend, you are ready to collapse, and tempers can get short. But ya know what, acting like a a person's celebrity excuses crappy behaviour sucks. See "Britney Spears, Michael Vick, and a host of other celebrities"

[mustangdriver]

I understand that eveyone doesn't always get along, and that some have had different experiences with him. Everyone has their own opinion, and that is fine. Mine just happens to be rather high of gen. Yeager. What I am not a fan of is when some try to take away the accomplishments of someone that others don't like. Such as saying that he didn't break the sound barrier first, or that the X-1 was easy to fly through mach 1. I am sorry to tell you that the history books speak otherwise.

[Jack Cook]

The fact he's a pompus *ss and didn't break the sound barrier first (even the AFM changed their webpage to say level flight sorta like the Belle was the first to do 25 and come home. We'll big deal the poor brave saps that did 25 first never got the credit they were due just like Welch) doesn't take away from his accomplishments. reading something in a history book doesn't make it accurate or completely factual. I've seen a lot of bad info published.