# RIP Chuck Yeager **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 8, 2020, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-chuck-yeager/927539 "2020-12-08T04:35:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [December 8, 2020, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-chuck-yeager/927539/1 "2020-12-08T04:35:12Z")
> **[Chuck Yeager, Test Pilot Who Broke the Sound Barrier, Is Dead at 97...](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/07/us/chuck-yeager-dead.html)** > > A World War II fighter ace and Air Force general, he was, according to Tom Wolfe, “the most righteous of all the possessors of the right stuff.” ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-chuck-yeager/927539/2 "2020-12-08T04:39:44Z")
Damn. 2020 can bugger _right_ off. ---
**Author:** ![Encinitas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Encinitas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Encinitas)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-chuck-yeager/927539/3 "2020-12-08T04:53:30Z")
I thought he was immortal. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-chuck-yeager/927539/4 "2020-12-08T04:57:59Z")
Guess Death found a plane fast enough to catch him. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-chuck-yeager/927539/5 "2020-12-08T04:59:48Z")
Nah. Jesus just needed to go faster. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-chuck-yeager/927539/6 "2020-12-08T06:05:12Z")
Chuck Yaeger was a badass. RIP. Unfortunately, that is seriously tainted as he was also by many accounts a racist bastard and froze out Ed Dwight from becoming the first black astronaut. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-chuck-yeager/927539/7 "2020-12-08T06:12:18Z")
Hindsight will reveal every one of us to be shit-hooks by whatever metric is imposed at the time of retrospect. Get accustomed to having every Hero denigrated in time. In the meantime, Fuck Yeah, Chuck! My dad got to go Super-Sonic because of you. ---
**Author:** ![tingbudong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tingbudong/32/520_2.png) [@tingbudong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tingbudong)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-chuck-yeager/927539/8 "2020-12-08T06:22:40Z")
“It’s a great day for flying” ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-chuck-yeager/927539/9 "2020-12-08T08:09:52Z")
“You got any Beeman’s?” Sad to hear the news. I hope that he’s flying among the stars now. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-chuck-yeager/927539/10 "2020-12-08T10:00:13Z")
Ah, he’s slipped the surly bonds for good… ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-chuck-yeager/927539/11 "2020-12-08T10:01:36Z")
He was a stud. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-chuck-yeager/927539/12 "2020-12-08T10:05:21Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > Chuck Yaeger was a badass. RIP. > > Unfortunately, that is seriously tainted as he was also by many accounts a racist bastard and froze out Ed Dwight from becoming the first black astronaut. This^^^. Brave beyond belief and helped advance military and space technology no end, but not a saint by any means. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-chuck-yeager/927539/13 "2020-12-08T10:31:04Z")
It occurs to me that anyone who had a career as a military test pilot who dies in bed in their 90’s had a pretty good run. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-chuck-yeager/927539/14 "2020-12-08T13:31:30Z")
He had a cameo in the Right Stuff , he was at the bar Pancho’s. I think he may have had 1 line , not sure Story is he was not an astronaut due to lack of a degree. Now almost all astronauts have a MS and many have either MD or PhD. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-chuck-yeager/927539/15 "2020-12-08T13:43:05Z")
“The first time I saw an ME-262, I shot it down.” ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-chuck-yeager/927539/16 "2020-12-08T13:46:53Z")
I remember reading, a long time ago, about Yeager breaking the sound barrier for the first time. From what I remember of the account, the amazing thing was that the aerodynamics change drastically as you hit the speed of sound and you encounter very strong turbulence. To most people in that era this would be an indication that you need to pull back and not push it any further. Yeager just went ahead, and discovered that once you’re past the speed of sound, things just smooth out again as a new set of aerodynamics kicks in, if the airplane is properly designed for it. Not my idea of fun, but says a lot about the guy. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-chuck-yeager/927539/17 "2020-12-08T13:49:18Z")
he injured himself on a horse ride but did not tell the AF people for the speed test the next day. He had to get part of a broom handle to close the airplane hatch due to the injury. Right Stuff is a very good movie if you have not seen it. He was only 24 when he broke the speed barrier ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-chuck-yeager/927539/18 "2020-12-08T14:23:18Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > He had a cameo in the Right Stuff , he was at the bar Pancho’s. I think he may have had 1 line , He serves Scott Crossfield his steak dinner after breaking mach 2; “here you go Scotty, compliments of Pancho’s.” I think he also asks the astronaut recruiters if they want anything to drink, and Harry Shearer asks for a Coke in a clean glass. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-chuck-yeager/927539/19 "2020-12-08T14:34:09Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > “The first time I saw an ME-262, I shot it down.” I thought the line was “the first time I saw a jet aircraft, I shot it down.” > [@wolfpup](#): > > I remember reading, a long time ago, about Yeager breaking the sound barrier for the first time. From what I remember of the account, the amazing thing was that the aerodynamics change drastically as you hit the speed of sound and you encounter very strong turbulence. To most people in that era this would be an indication that you need to pull back and not push it any further. Yeager just went ahead, and discovered that once you’re past the speed of sound, things just smooth out again as a new set of aerodynamics kicks in, if the airplane is properly designed for it. Not my idea of fun, but says a lot about the guy. The supersonic flight wasn’t Yeager’s first time in the X-1. He had made multiple flights before that, at gradually higher speeds. They discovered that, at a certain speed, the elevator (the hinged surface on the back of the horizontal stabilizer) stopped having any effect; he couldn’t control the nose of the airplane to come up or down. After landing, he talked the problem over with his engineer. There is another control, not often used during flight, that changes the angle of the whole stabilizer. They put a little extra lubrication on it and ran it through its full range of motion. On the next flight, when Yeager hit the same speed and the elevator stopped working, he tried adjusting the stabilizer and found that it worked to control pitch. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-chuck-yeager/927539/20 "2020-12-08T15:26:37Z")
But there were people of Yeager’s own time who weren’t racist, like the people who were trying to diversify the astronaut program. I think it’s fair to judge him by how other people of his time behaved. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-chuck-yeager/927539.md?page=2)