Sierratim
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Nevada City, CA & Paradise Valley, AZ
Retired Brig. Gen. Charles 'Chuck' Yeager's death was announced today . He was 97. Chuck had made his home in Grass Valley, CA since 1975. Grass Valley is the 'sister' city of Nevada City, our home.
Chuck Yeager was a U.S. Air Force combat pilot in WWII being credited with shooting down 13 enemy aircraft in 64 missions. Chuck was also the first to break the sound barrier in 1947 piloting a Bell X-1 experimental craft launched from the bomb bay of a WWII bomber. He went on to help train pilots for space flight. His early graduates went on to be America's first astronauts in the earliest years of its space program. Yeager was one of several people featured in the 1983 film, "The Right Stuff," adapted from Tom Wolfe's nonfiction novel about the first 15 years of America's space program.
In 2004, the small local Nevada County Airport dedicated Chuck's F-104 Starfighter jet as a monument at its entrance.
In 2010, nearby Yuba County officials announced they would be renaming a part of Smartsville Road, which leads to Beale Air Force Base, to “Chuck Yeager Road.”
Chuck was active in a number of local youth programs including the Young Eagles. He was an active pilot until his late 80's having flown an X-15 at 1,000mph over the southern California deserts where he had first broken the sound barrier in 1947. He was 79 at that time.
Chuck Yeager was a U.S. Air Force combat pilot in WWII being credited with shooting down 13 enemy aircraft in 64 missions. Chuck was also the first to break the sound barrier in 1947 piloting a Bell X-1 experimental craft launched from the bomb bay of a WWII bomber. He went on to help train pilots for space flight. His early graduates went on to be America's first astronauts in the earliest years of its space program. Yeager was one of several people featured in the 1983 film, "The Right Stuff," adapted from Tom Wolfe's nonfiction novel about the first 15 years of America's space program.
In 2004, the small local Nevada County Airport dedicated Chuck's F-104 Starfighter jet as a monument at its entrance.
In 2010, nearby Yuba County officials announced they would be renaming a part of Smartsville Road, which leads to Beale Air Force Base, to “Chuck Yeager Road.”
Chuck was active in a number of local youth programs including the Young Eagles. He was an active pilot until his late 80's having flown an X-15 at 1,000mph over the southern California deserts where he had first broken the sound barrier in 1947. He was 79 at that time.
