Warbird Information Exchange

Hey at any rate sorry for getting steamed up a bit.

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Director

Did you guys see the B-29 in the pictures?

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"Everyone wants to live here (New Jersey), evidenced by the fact that it has the highest population per capita in the U.S..."

Credit where due... Yeager DID get into what was essentially a flying bomb and rocket through the sound barrier in horizontal flight on October 14, 1947. That took balls, guts, whatever you call it, and that event is not in dispute. However, there is strong evidence that Welch did indeed break the barrier in a dive a few days earlier... and frankly, I rather enjoy that story more, because it was Welch's way of "sticking it to The Man". From what I've read, he knew it wouldn't count, and in fact he had to play around with his flight test regimen to squeeze in a supersonic dive, but as everyone here generally agrees, it WAS NOT OFFICIAL.

What everyone seems to be overlooking is, there wasn't a chance in hell that Welch's achievement would be publicized because of the vast amount of money the USAF had tied up in the Bell XS-1... top brass do not like to see their golden albatross "shown up", and Welch and NAA were very much giving the proverbial finger to both Bell and the AF brass. And that's a sentiment I can wholeheartedly support.

Lynn

Lynn, this post, along with your avatar, is ample evidence for me that you should be immediately promoted to WIX Grand Poobah (with appropriate statue erected somewhere).

CY's instant fame rocketed (sorry) him to bigger & better things...all the way to the top as an AC Delco spokesmodel. Poor GW remained in relative obscurity as far as the general public is concerned.

Of the two, I think we all know who would fit in better at a WIX "event". Lynn GW

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It was a good idea, it just didn't work.

To this day, it amuses me no end that CY really owes much of his "fame" amongst the general (non-aviation minded) public to Tom Wolfe, author of the Right Stuff.
Thanks to that book and the subsequent movie, CY became a household name to people with no prior knowledge of his accomplishments and/or their historical significance.
I find it amusing because Mr Wolfe is definitely not the type of persona (a NY'er w/ drop-dead, eye-hurting, white suits, etc.) that CY would ever hang out with.
Not to take anything away from CY and his duty. I am allowed my chuckle though.
Also, remember and thank Jack Ridley on that anniversary.

Also it's fair to remember Slick Goodlin who flew the X-1 on 26 flights before Yeager up to what .95 mach or so.
If I recall Goodlin flew in the RCAF, US Navy has a test pilot and also flew for Isreal in their war for independence with a couple kills.

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Don't touch my junk!!

Right... but Slick lost out on the glory due to his greater desire for money. From an obit article in the LA Times (http://articles.latimes.com/2005/oct/28/local/me-goodlin28)



His loss.

Yeager touched on that a bit. He told me that "Slick wanted $150,000 to break the sound barrier. You have to understand that $150,000 was just a ton of money back then. I had worked on the X-1 project every day and when asked said that I would go for free. I wanted to fly that thing. It was really not a huge deal because i was flying 10 other projects at the same time as the X-1. We all did that. You came out in the morning and were handed a mission briefing for what you were flying." I know many here don't like him, but really the guy was just awesome with me. Still is as well. The Yeagers are really great to me.

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Director

Yes-yes-yes blah-blah blah....we know the story and saw the movie. But Slick he flew it also and made great contributions to the X-1 program and to avaition has a whole and deserves the recognition and so do a whole lot of other folks!!. If it was up to CY alone he never would have made it out of bed

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Don't touch my junk!!

Jack, I'm gonna say something here... I think you have become so wrapped around the axle with how Yeager has degenerated into a self-important prick over the years, that you've lost sight of the fact that he wasn't always like that. People don't just turn into jackholes overnight... like anything, it's a process.

I've had my own run-in with him, and witnessed his irritation at children who looked up to him as a hero, and heard TONS of stories of what a grade-A turd he's been to people, but I honestly believe that this is solely a byproduct of him believing his own hype. The 2000-era Yeager doesn't bear any resemblance to the 1940s-era Yeager... back then, he was just one out of thousands of servicemen who served honorably. He got a few kills, had some hair-raising combats, but didn't do anything during the war that lots and lots of other guys didn't do as well. He chose to remain in the service after the war, though, when many of those other guys got out, and he found himself in the right position at the right time to make history. There's nothing wrong with that, nothing dishonorable about it. It's how he handled the subsequent fame that has shaped the image you and lots of other people have of the General, and I think it's important that you be able to recognize that.

Respectfully,

Lynn

Bravo.

Sorry Jack.

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Sure, Charles Lindbergh flew the plane... but Tom Rutledge built the engine!

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Actually I was focused on that one singular event and not about who was first. There's some much more involved in this event. How many people were involved in this project that made it possible for CY to just get to that point. It's a whole team effort and people have a bad habit of forgetting that. Everyone remembers Goodlin has the guy who missed out because he wanted cash. No one remembers or cares that he flew that sucker 26 times. Jack Ridley cut a broom handle in half and gave CY a stick of Beemans. Everyone remembers the fullback who scored the TD that one the game but who remeber the guard that made the hole in the defense for him I remember at VA-128 there was a student BN who after his final checkride came and had the guys who launched him sign his logbook and had us pose for a couple pictures with him by the A-6. Now that was cool!!

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Don't touch my junk!!

In WWII after escaping the Germans he also carried a wounded B-24 crewmember across the Alps to safety. A pretty heroic task I would say.

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Director

I agree that the Bn with the log book is cool. But why be jacked at Yeager? Slick wanted a ton of cash and didn't get it. If he had, or if he had just flown the thing he would have been first. he didn't so Yeager did it. That was a calculated risk that Slick made. Why on earth hold that against Yeager? Does that mean that you feel that way about Charles Lindbergh, Doolittle(after all the crew of the Hornet got him to where he did as well as all of his crew chiefs through the years), and how about the astronauts? This is an event that happens all of the time in aviation. Bud Anderson told me, "No one knows who Gabby Gabreski's crew chief was." and it is true. But you can't hold it against the guy or take away from his contributions.
What about current warbirds? Everyone knows Steve Hinton. Not many know the great people that take care of that fleet. Do you hold that against him too?

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Director

The first thread which I never said anything bad about CY and I'm still gett'in smoked
Of course Slck lost out but he'll still made a great contribution to the effort!
My only real point is was that it was a team effort and many many people contributed to the X-1 program. History and fame are fickle things!! Goodlin mad 26 flights but not the biggie so no ones really gives a darn. Nw that's a shame!!

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Don't touch my junk!!