Warbird Information Exchange

this may be old news, but i doubt it, as i just read it in the latest issue of general aviation magazine that slick goodlin has passed on. he made 26 subsonic flights in the bell x-1, but he wanted 150 thousand bucks for a mach 1 test flight. bell refused, gave it to yeager, & the rest is history. he joined the rcaf at 18 in 1942, & he flew after that as a usn test pilot during ww 2. in the 60's he flew medical supplies for the red cross in nigeria during the civil war their. a stroke ended his flying career in 1990. it is common knowledge that there was no love lost between him & yeager, even up to the time of his passing. regards, tom

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tom d. friedman - hey!!! those fokkers were messerschmitts!! * without ammunition, the usaf would be just another flying club!!! * better to have piece of mind than piece of tail!!

Thanks for the news, Tom, I didn't know. I corresponded with Mr. Goodlin on several occassions bck in the 1990's and he was always quite willing to answer any questions I had. After his time as a test pilot he became the champion of the Burnelli aircraft designs, claiming that they were the solution to many of the safety woes of the current airliners in use today.

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Victory By Valor (Motto of the 20th Fighter Group)

Two months ago October 20. I should have posted something but figured everybody would know.

John

Renowned pilot lived doing what he loved


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Chalmers H. "Slick" Goodlin




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By Patti Dobranski
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, October 22, 2005


Chalmers H. "Slick" Goodlin showed potential for aviation greatness as a 15-year-old boy when he started taking flying lessons at New Alexandria Airport in the late 1930s.
"He used to go to New Alexandria Airport every Sunday for flying lessons. He would deliver the newspaper by airplane. He would fly as low as he could go and drop it," recalled his sister, Myla Shestik, of New Alexandria.

Mr. Goodlin left home at age 16 to join the Royal Canadian Air Force because the United States military required a high school diploma and college education to become a pilot, his sister said.

His natural flying ability and skills led the RCAF to nickname him "Slick," according to his brother, E. Alton "Al" Goodlin, also of New Alexandria.





"He had 50 hours of flying before he even went to Canada. They said, 'Hey, this Goodlin is slick,' and it stuck," Al Goodlin said.

Mr. Goodlin, a world-renowned test pilot and aviator, died of cancer Thursday, Oct. 20, 2005, at his home in West Palm Beach, Fla. He was 82.

Born in Greensburg on Jan. 2, 1923, Mr. Goodlin showed an interest in flying early on.

"He was very interested as a young boy and started building model airplanes. He was a very happy man, and so outgoing," his brother said. "He left home at 16 and hasn't been back since then. He would come back and visit us over the years ... always flying in."

At the start of World War II, Mr. Goodlin was flying with the RCAF and earned his wings and a commission as a pilot officer before he turned 19. By 1942, he joined the Royal Air Force in England and flew Spitfires. He was solicited by the U.S. Navy in December 1942 and began test flying F4F Wildcats, F6F Hellcats, TBF Avengers and F4U Corsairs. He became a test pilot for Bell Aircraft Corp. in January 1944 and flew the X-1, which would eventually break the sound barrier in October 1947 with U.S. Air Force Capt. Chuck Yeager at the controls.

Goodlin also joined a group of pilots who flew Spitfires in 40 missions in defense of Israel and helped form the Israeli Air Force.

During his life, he also received numerous honors. His most recent accomplishment was a nomination in the Florida Aviation Hall of Fame.

His sister said her brother didn't get the recognition he deserved for some of his accomplishments.

"He did not have formal education, but he educated himself. He wrote several aviation articles, appeared in many documentaries and television interviews. He saved a lot of lives delivering supplies during the Nigerian civil war in the late 1960s for the Red Cross," she said.

Mr. Goodlin lived many places during his life, but his longest residency was the 28 years he spent in England.

Mr. Goodlin continued to fly until he suffered a stroke in the early 1990s, his brother said.

"He was a wonderful man, who was so loved and respected his entire life," Shestik said.

In addition to his sister and brother, Mr. Goodlin is survived by his wife, Aila Kaarina Vainio, nieces Susan Ludwig, Cindy Burnham and her children, Kay-Lee and Taylor, and nephew William B. Goodlin.

Friends will be received at P. David Newhouse Funeral Home, at Church and Washington streets, New Alexandria, from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday and from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday. Service will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Community United Presbyterian Church in New Alexandria. Interment will be at St. John United Church of Christ Cemetery, Hempfield Township.