Summary: Many of my aviation heroes are complicated people of nuance and contradiction but not this man. As I reflect on his life, so recently ended, I remind myself of his uncompromising, direct manner but also of his enormous courage and skill that brought Charles Edward Yeager to the world’s attention.<br> <br> Yeager grew up helping his father out on gas drilling rigs.<br> <br> <br> <br> Yeager joined the Air Force as a Private and became a mechanic but he soon made his way into pilot training.<br> <br> <br> <br> He was initially given a P39 Aeracobra to fly.<br> <br> <br> <br> He was sent to Europe to flight, flying the P51 Mustang.<br> <br> <br> <br> He named his own aircraft Glamorous Glen.<br> <br> <br> <br> He qualified as an Ace in one day and then shot down a jet powered Me262.<br> <br> <br> <br> After the war Yeager qualified as a Test Pilot.<br> <br> <br> <br> Even as a very junior Test Pilot, Yeager was offered the chance to pilot the Bell X1.<br> <br> <br> <br> Yeager finally took the X!, now named Glamorous Glennis, over Mach 1 becoming the first to break the sound barrier.<br> <br> <br> <br> Yeager completed a long and successful career in the USAF.<br> <br> <br> <br> Chuck Yeager passed away in 2020.<br> <br> <br> <br> Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to SMU Central University, USAF National Museum and the USAF.
