Chuck Yeager

[Foxbat]

Maybe not a literary great but this kind of man is what got me interested in science and science fiction. The first man to go supersonic has died aged 97 and, if there’s a heaven, I’m sure he’ll give the inhabitants a victory roll as he flies in.

 

[jd73]

I must confess I had no idea he was still alive. But yeah. I love that one part of his legacy is the chilled out generic pilot voice, you know, the sort of "Ahh, wwwwelcome to thirty seven thousand feet and ahhh, approach this is, ahh, golf one seven papa on long final and ahh, have a great day!" All pilots, when they do that, are basically doing Chuck Yeager impersonations.

 

[mosaix]

He failed to make the astronaut program due to the lack of a college education but, rightly so, his contribution was acknowledged in The Right Stuff.

 

[Droflet]

Yes, fabulous movie, the right stuff. 97, sad, but that's not a bad run. I read his biography which is fascinating. Talk about being the right man, in the right place at the right time. Worth a read.

 

[CupofJoe]

He had many accomplishments but he was still breaking the sound barrier at 89! There is hope for us all

 

[svalbard]

They just don't make them like him anymore. His WWII exploits were enough adventure for one life time let alone his later career.

 

[Robert Zwilling]

He was one of the great pioneers of the early space age. In the late 1940s through early 60s there were many groups of people, men and women, who kept pushing the unknown envelope of how far and how fast people could travel above Earth. He recreated his historic flight in 1997 and again in 2012 as a copilot.

 

[BigBadBob141]

What a brave pilot, he broke the world air speed record in the rocket plane Bell X1 while suffering from an untreated broken shoulder, he had fallen off a horse the day before and told no one in case he was pulled from the flight, he used a piece of broom handle to help him shut the cabin door!
R.I.P. Chuck!