General Chuck Yeager Spars w/ Jim Clash on Adventurer

The great test pilot Gen. Chuck Yeager, now 85, talks with Jim Clash about being first to break the sound barrier (in 1947), "The Right Stuff" book and movie (and how he felt Sam Shepard played his character) and his U.S. military service. The interview took place at the 2008 Explorers Club Lowell Thomas Dinner in New York.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Jim
• James
• Clash
• Chuck
• Yeager
• sound
• barrier
• Mach
• Right
• Stuff
• Sam
• Shepard
• Tom
• Wolfe
• Forbes
• Adventurer
• X-1
• aviation
• space

[TheWizardTrembyle]

Chuck Yeager was the first person to break the sound barrier in level flight and he was the first person to have his trans-sonic speed verified by third party instrumentation. Many pilots have claimed that they broke the sound barrier before Chuck Yeager while diving their aircraft. However due to the many variables involved with super sonic flight it is nearly impossible to recreate the scenarios presented by the claimants.

[jimclash]

@TheWizardTrembyle I have heard similar from many people. I wish I'd asked Chuck about that, in retrospect ,to see what he would have said.

[spacecowboynj]

LOVE Chuck Yeager. Thank you for this great interview. You did a great job.

[greatdane115]

Chuck Yeager is the real deal. He is a great american

[16vr6]

Congrats. You apparently know more about me than you do Charles.

[BeLikeWater1000]

@16vr6 cant believe your that ignorant at 43 years old. Its a fact the germans had the most experienced fighter pilots cuz they sent them on countless missions. Their aces racked up dozens more kills than our aces. (who topped out at around 25) Go drive ur kraut-wagon and quit trollin.

[16vr6]

@BeLikeWater1000 Well gee, you sure put me in my place. Please define "top notch". If it means pilot bordering on Hitler youth status with single-digit flight hours, I concede.

[BeLikeWater1000]

@16vr6 your a dumb ass....the german pilots he went up against were top notch ur a joke and u shouldnt be commenting here

[rarebear14]

I see a lot of spite and chagrin in the comments, there were only a few pilots

who dared to strap their fanny in a rocketplane, Bob Hoover was one of them.

They earned peanuts in the airforce and

Chuck did not benefit for his Mach1 flight

it took him ages to become major.

Give the guy the respect he deserves.

p.s. coming out of an inverted spin in the X1a is still unbelievable

[carnut476]

Yankee bigotry and stupidity doesn't offend me it just makes me laugh .

[Millard234]

Bless You Chuck

[TheWizardTrembyle]

@jimclash I have no doubt Chuck believes he was the first. Asking him a question like that probably would have pissed him off.