# Happy 80th Birthday, Gen. Chuck Yeager, Ret. ! ! ! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 13, 2003, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-80th-birthday-gen-chuck-yeager-ret/154807 "2003-02-13T12:21:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![H8\_2\_W8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c77e96/32.png) [@H8\_2\_W8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/H8_2_W8)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-80th-birthday-gen-chuck-yeager-ret/154807/1 "2003-02-13T12:21:34Z")
[http://www.chuckyeager.org/index2.html](http://www.chuckyeager.org/index2.html) Chuck Yeager: Hey, Ridley, make another note here, would ya? Must be something wrong with this ol’ Mach meter. Jumped plumb off the scale. Gone kinda screwy on me. Jack Ridley: You go ahead and bust it, we’ll fix it. Personally, I think you’re seein’ things. Chuck Yeager: Yeah, could be. But I’m still goin’ upstairs like a bat outta hell. from “The Right Stuff” ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-80th-birthday-gen-chuck-yeager-ret/154807/2 "2003-02-13T12:41:42Z")
Wow. The old fellah made it! Tripler ‘Glamourous Glennis’ must be happy too. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-80th-birthday-gen-chuck-yeager-ret/154807/3 "2003-02-13T13:05:09Z")
Happy birthday, General! > [@](#): > > ‘Glamourous Glennis’ must be happy too. Glennis died in 1990. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-80th-birthday-gen-chuck-yeager-ret/154807/4 "2003-02-13T22:35:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Johnny L.A. \* > \*\*Happy birthday, General! > > Glennis died in 1990. \*\* Aw man, did she? ☹ Tripler May her namesake live on. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-80th-birthday-gen-chuck-yeager-ret/154807/5 "2003-02-13T23:57:05Z")
Hell yes, happy 80th, Chuck. You’ll always be a pioneer, even if it was with a little involuntary help from the Brits. 😉 Nice flying, ace. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-80th-birthday-gen-chuck-yeager-ret/154807/6 "2003-02-14T01:11:08Z")
> [@](#): > > even if it was with a little involuntary help from the Brits. What help are you referring to? ---
**Author:** ![Narile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@Narile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Narile)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-80th-birthday-gen-chuck-yeager-ret/154807/7 "2003-02-14T01:13:28Z")
**Coldfire** is refering to the shutdown of the British attempts to break the sound barrier. At the time of the shut down, the brits were ahead of yanks in terms of design concepts, and probably would have broken the barrier before we did. (We also got a lot of info from them, but never reciprocated the gesture.) ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-80th-birthday-gen-chuck-yeager-ret/154807/8 "2003-02-14T01:42:28Z")
Especially the last part: the information was lifted off the Brits in the spirit of “we need to share information, we’re allies”, and it was a one way street. Try and catch Jeremy Clarkson’s series “Speed” on BBC World, they do some re-runs now and then. It elaborates on this issue. Doesn’t change Yeager’s achievement one bit, though. Hero! ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_The\_Diver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Buck\_The\_Diver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_The_Diver)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-80th-birthday-gen-chuck-yeager-ret/154807/9 "2003-02-14T04:28:03Z")
Anyone else here got a ballcap autographed by his Chuckness? Or am I the only one? ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-80th-birthday-gen-chuck-yeager-ret/154807/10 "2003-02-14T04:58:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Narile \* > \*\ ***Coldfire** is refering to the shutdown of the British attempts to break the sound barrier. \*\* Out of curiosity, I gotta ask: Why? The only reason I see why is that the British had a lot of ocean to test fly over, where us Yankees had a lot of dry lake bed. Why did the Brits stop? Tripler Was it financially related? ---
**Author:** ![Fredge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/258eb7/32.png) [@Fredge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fredge)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-80th-birthday-gen-chuck-yeager-ret/154807/11 "2003-02-14T13:34:24Z")
The British lost several pilots, I believe, in their attempt to break the barrier. One of the pilots lost was Geoffrey De Havilland Jr., son of the famous De Havilland aircraft designer. I’m not sure if that’s the only reason why the British shelved their attempts though. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-80th-birthday-gen-chuck-yeager-ret/154807/12 "2003-02-14T13:38:02Z")
IIRC from Yeager’s autobiography, he was amused at _Breaking the Sound Barrier_, where the British pilot accomplished the feat by reversing the controls".