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97-581: The lifting-body concept originated in the mid-1950s at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics ' Ames Aeronautical Laboratory , Mountain View, California . By February 1962, a series of possible shapes had been developed, and R. Dale Reed was working to gain support for a research vehicle. The construction of the M2-F1 was a joint effort by Dryden and a local glider manufacturer,

194-485: A Cessna 150 , later replaced by Cessna 180 landing gear) was done at the NASA facility. The wingless, lifting-body aircraft design was initially conceived as a means of landing a spacecraft horizontally after atmospheric reentry. The absence of wings would make the extreme heat of reentry less damaging to the vehicle. Rather than using a ballistic reentry trajectory like a Command Module , very limited in maneuvering range,

291-493: A P-51 Mustang fighter pilot on the Western Front , where he was credited with shooting down 11.5 enemy aircraft (the half credit is from a second pilot assisting him in a single shootdown). On October 12, 1944, he attained " ace in a day " status, shooting down five enemy aircraft in one mission. After the war, Yeager became a test pilot and flew many types of aircraft, including experimental rocket-powered aircraft for

388-564: A T-33 , was to evaluate Smith Ranch Dry Lake in Nevada for use as an emergency landing site for the North American X-15 . In his autobiography, he wrote that he knew the lake bed was unsuitable for landings after recent rains, but Armstrong insisted on flying out anyway. As Armstrong suggested that they do a touch-and-go , Yeager advised against it, telling him "You may touch, but you ain't gonna go!" When Armstrong did touch down,

485-561: A chase aircraft for the civilian pilot Jackie Cochran as she became the first woman to fly faster than sound. On November 20, 1953, the U.S. Navy program involving the D-558-II Skyrocket and its pilot, Scott Crossfield , became the first team to reach twice the speed of sound. After they were bested, Ridley and Yeager decided to beat rival Crossfield's speed record in a series of test flights that they dubbed "Operation NACA Weep". Not only did they beat Crossfield by setting

582-631: A 70-year period, and continued to fly for two decades after retirement as a consultant pilot for the United States Air Force. Yeager was born February 13, 1923, in Myra, West Virginia , to farming parents Albert Hal Yeager (1896–1963) and Susie Mae Yeager ( née  Sizemore ; 1898–1987). When he was five years old, his family moved to Hamlin, West Virginia . Yeager had two brothers, Roy and Hal Jr., and two sisters, Doris Ann (accidentally killed at age two by four-year-old Roy playing with

679-512: A NASA R4D tow plane at greater altitudes. A NASA R4D, the Navy designation for the Douglas DC-3, was used for all of the air tows. The first was on August 16, 1963. The M2-F1 had recently been equipped with an ejection seat and small rockets – referred to by the test team as "instant L/D " – in the tail to extend the landing flare for about 5 seconds if needed, and Thompson prepared for

776-692: A ceremony at the White House on December 8, 1976. Yeager never attended college and was often modest about his background, but is considered by many, including Flying Magazine , the California Hall of Fame, the State of West Virginia, National Aviation Hall of Fame, a few U.S. presidents, and the United States Army Air Force, to be one of the greatest pilots of all time. Air & Space/Smithsonian magazine ranked him

873-437: A contract basis. In 1922, NACA had 100 employees. By 1938, it had 426. In addition to formal assignments, staff were encouraged to pursue unauthorized "bootleg" research, provided that it was not too exotic. The result was a long string of fundamental breakthroughs, including " thin airfoil theory " (1920s), " NACA engine cowl " (1930s), the " NACA airfoil " series (1940s), and the " area rule " for supersonic aircraft (1950s). On

970-464: A feasible front line fighter by European standards, and so North American began development of a new aircraft. The British government chose a NACA-developed airfoil for the fighter, which enabled it to perform dramatically better than previous models. This aircraft became known as the P-51 Mustang . After early experiments by Opel RAK with rocket propulsion leading to the first public flight of

1067-706: A firearm) and Pansy Lee. He attended Hamlin High School, where he played basketball and football , receiving his best grades in geometry and typing . He graduated from high school in June 1941. His first experience with the military was as a teen at the Citizens Military Training Camp at Fort Benjamin Harrison , Indianapolis , Indiana, during the summers of 1939 and 1940. On February 26, 1945, Yeager married Glennis Dickhouse, and

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1164-623: A functional test pilot of repaired aircraft, which brought him under the command of Colonel Albert Boyd , head of the Aeronautical Systems Flight Test Division. Yeager remained in the U.S. Army Air Forces after the war, becoming a test pilot at Muroc Army Air Field (now Edwards Air Force Base ), following graduation from Air Materiel Command Flight Performance School (Class 46C). After Bell Aircraft test pilot Chalmers "Slick" Goodlin demanded US$ 150,000 (equivalent to $ 2,050,000 in 2023) to break

1261-655: A keen interest in interacting with PAF personnel from various Pakistani Squadrons and helping them develop combat tactics . In one instance in 1972, while visiting the No. 15 Squadron "Cobras" at Peshawar Airbase , the Squadron's OC Wing Commander Najeeb Khan escorted him to K2 in a pair of F-86Fs after Yeager requested a visit to the second highest mountain on Earth. After hostilities broke out in 1971 , he decided to stay in West Pakistan and continued overseeing

1358-445: A lifting-body vehicle had a landing footprint of the size of California . The first flight tests of the M2-F1 were at Rogers Dry Lake , at the end of a tow rope attached to a 1963 Pontiac Catalina convertible. On April 5, 1963 test pilot Milt Thompson lifted the M2-F1's nose off the ground for the first time while being towed. The speed was 86 miles per hour (138 km/h). The little craft seemed to bounce uncontrollably between

1455-617: A mission with orders from the Eighth Air Force to " strafe anything that moved ". During the mission briefing, he whispered to Major Donald H. Bochkay , "If we are going to do things like this, we sure as hell better make sure we are on the winning side". Yeager said, "I'm certainly not proud of that particular strafing mission against civilians. But it is there, on the record and in my memory". He also expressed bitterness at his treatment in England during World War II, describing

1552-433: A nation as well as military necessity that this challenge ( Sputnik ) be met by an energetic program of research and development for the conquest of space. ... It is accordingly proposed that the scientific research be the responsibility of a national civilian agency working in close cooperation with the applied research and development groups required for weapon systems development by the military. The pattern to be followed

1649-469: A new Glamorous Glennis III , an F-15D Eagle , past Mach 1. The chase plane for the flight was an F-16 Fighting Falcon piloted by Bob Hoover , a longtime test, fighter, and aerobatic pilot who had been Yeager's wingman for the first supersonic flight. At the end of his speech to the crowd in 1997, Yeager concluded, "All that I am ... I owe to the Air Force". Later that month, he was the recipient of

1746-455: A new record at Mach 2.44 on December 12, 1953, but they did it in time to spoil a celebration planned for the 50th anniversary of flight in which Crossfield was to be called "the fastest man alive". The new record flight, however, did not entirely go to plan, since shortly after reaching Mach 2.44, Yeager lost control of the X-1A at about 80,000 ft (24,000 m) due to inertia coupling ,

1843-479: A phenomenon largely unknown at the time. With the aircraft simultaneously rolling, pitching, and yawing out of control, Yeager dropped 51,000 ft (16,000 m) in less than a minute before regaining control at around 29,000 ft (8,800 m). He then managed to land without further incident. For this feat, Yeager was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) in 1954. Yeager

1940-572: A rocket plane, the Opel RAK.1 , in 1929 and eventual military programs at Heinkel and Messerschmitt by Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s, the US entered the race to supersonic planes and spaceflight in the 1940s. Although the Bell X-1 was commissioned by the Air Force and flown by Air Force test pilot Chuck Yeager , when it exceeded Mach 1 NACA was officially in charge of the testing and development of

2037-535: A single shot: when he flew into firing position against a Messerschmitt Bf 109 , the pilot of the aircraft panicked, breaking to port and colliding with his wingman. Yeager said both pilots bailed out. He finished the war with 11.5 official victories, including one of the first air-to-air victories over a jet fighter, a German Messerschmitt Me 262 that he shot down as it was on final approach for landing. In his 1986 memoirs, Yeager recalled with disgust that "atrocities were committed by both sides", and said he went on

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2134-519: A skill that he had learned from his father. He was awarded the Bronze Star for helping a navigator, Omar M. "Pat" Patterson Jr., to cross the Pyrenees . Despite a regulation prohibiting "evaders" (escaped pilots) from flying over enemy territory again, the purpose of which was to prevent resistance groups from being compromised by giving the enemy a second chance to possibly capture him, Yeager

2231-552: Is now used in designing all transonic and supersonic aircraft. NACA experience provided a model for World War II research, the postwar government laboratories, and NACA's successor, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NACA also participated in development of the first aircraft to fly to the "edge of space", North American's X-15 . NACA airfoils are still used on modern aircraft. On November 21, 1957, Hugh Dryden , NACA's director, established

2328-598: Is on display at the Air Force Flight Test Museum on Edwards Air Force Base , California. General characteristics Performance Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics ( NACA ) was a United States federal agency that was founded on March 3, 1915, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958,

2425-576: Is that already developed by the NACA and the military services. ... The NACA is capable, by rapid extension and expansion of its effort, of providing leadership in space technology. On March 5, 1958, James Killian , who chaired the President's Science Advisory Committee , wrote a memorandum to the President Dwight D. Eisenhower . Titled, "Organization for Civil Space Programs", it encouraged

2522-487: Is used on all modern supersonic aircraft , and conducted the key compressibility research that enabled the Bell X-1 to break the sound barrier. NACA was established on March 13, 1915, by the federal government through enabling legislation as an emergency measure during World War I to promote industry, academic, and government coordination on war-related projects. It was modeled on similar national agencies found in Europe:

2619-553: The Washington Monthly of October 1985: "After Yeager's Beechcraft was destroyed during an Indian air raid, he raged to his cowering colleagues that the Indian pilot had been specifically instructed by Indira Gandhi to blast his plane. 'It was', he later wrote, 'the Indian way of giving Uncle Sam the finger'". Yeager was incensed over the incident and demanded U.S. retaliation. On March 1, 1975, Yeager retired from

2716-674: The 357th Fighter Group at Tonopah, Nevada , he initially trained as a fighter pilot, flying Bell P-39 Airacobras (being grounded for seven days for clipping a farmer's tree during a training flight), and shipped overseas with the group on November 23, 1943. Stationed in the United Kingdom at RAF Leiston , Yeager flew P-51 Mustangs in combat with the 363d Fighter Squadron . He named his aircraft Glamorous Glen after his girlfriend, Glennis Faye Dickhouse, who became his wife in February 1945. Yeager had gained one victory before he

2813-592: The Air Command and Staff College . Yeager continued to break many speed and altitude records. He was one of the first American pilots to fly a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 , after its pilot, No Kum-sok , defected to South Korea . Returning to Muroc, during the latter half of 1953, Yeager was involved with the USAF team that was working on the X-1A , an aircraft designed to surpass Mach 2 in level flight. That year, he flew

2910-549: The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress to maintain power at high altitude, a team of engineers from NACA solved the problems and created the standards and testing methods used to produce effective superchargers in the future. This enabled the B-17 to be used as a key aircraft in the war effort. The designs and information gained from NACA research on the B-17 were used in nearly every major U.S. military powerplant of

3007-520: The Briegleb Glider Company . The budget was US$ 30,000. NASA craftsmen and engineers built the tubular steel interior frame. Its mahogany plywood shell was handmade by Gus Briegleb and company. Ernie Lowder, a NASA craftsman who had worked on Howard Hughes 's H-4 Hercules ("Spruce Goose"), was assigned to help Briegleb. Final assembly of the remaining components (including aluminum tail surfaces, pushrod controls, and landing gear from

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3104-573: The Convair F-102 project and the F11F Tiger . The F-102 was meant to be a supersonic interceptor, but it was unable to exceed the speed of sound, despite the best effort of Convair engineers. The F-102 had actually already begun production when this was discovered, so NACA engineers were sent to quickly solve the problem at hand. The production line had to be modified to allow the modification of F-102s already in production to allow them to use

3201-786: The International Air & Space Hall of Fame . He was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1981. He was inducted into the Aerospace Walk of Honor 1990 inaugural class. Yeager Airport in Charleston, West Virginia , is named in his honor. The Interstate 64 / Interstate 77 bridge over the Kanawha River in Charleston is named in his honor. He also flew directly under

3298-537: The NACA cowling , and several series of NACA airfoils , which are still used in aircraft manufacturing. During World War II, NACA was described as "The Force Behind Our Air Supremacy" due to its key role in producing working superchargers for high altitude bombers, and for producing the laminar wing profiles for the North American P-51 Mustang . NACA also helped in developing the area rule that

3395-478: The NASA M2-F1 lifting body . An accident during a December 1963 test flight in one of the school's NF-104s resulted in serious injuries. After climbing to a near-record altitude, the plane's controls became ineffective, and it entered a flat spin . After several turns, and an altitude loss of approximately 95,000 feet, Yeager ejected from the plane. During the ejection, the seat straps released normally, but

3492-463: The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). Through the NACA program, he became the first human to officially break the sound barrier on October 14, 1947, when he flew the experimental Bell X-1 at Mach 1 at an altitude of 45,000 ft (13,700 m), for which he won both the Collier and Mackay trophies in 1948. He then went on to break several other speed and altitude records in

3589-756: The National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1973, retiring on March 1, 1975. His three-war active-duty flying career spanned more than 30 years and took him to many parts of the world, including the Korean War zone and the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War . Yeager is referred to by many as one of the greatest pilots of all time, and was ranked fifth on Flying 's list of the 51 Heroes of Aviation in 2013. Throughout his life, he flew more than 360 different types of aircraft over

3686-498: The Space Shuttle program. The M2-F1 program demonstrated the feasibility of the lifting-body concept for horizontal landings of atmospheric entry vehicles. It also demonstrated a procurement and management concept for prototype flight research vehicles that produced rapid results at very low cost (approximately US$ 50,000, excluding salaries of government employees assigned to the project). As of January 23, 2015, M2-F1 N86652

3783-547: The Tony Jannus Award for his achievements. On October 14, 2012, on the 65th anniversary of breaking the sound barrier, Yeager did it again at the age of 89, flying as co-pilot in a McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle piloted by Captain David Vincent out of Nellis Air Force Base . In 1973, Yeager was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame , arguably aviation's highest honor. In 1974, Yeager received

3880-564: The US Army's Ballistic Missile Agency would have a Jupiter C rocket ready to launch a satellite in 1956, only to have it delayed, and the Soviets would launch Sputnik 1 in October 1957. On January 14, 1958, Dryden published "A National Research Program for Space Technology", which stated: It is of great urgency and importance to our country both from consideration of our prestige as

3977-701: The United States after the war for analysis. Yeager also flew around in his Beechcraft Queen Air , a small passenger aircraft that was assigned to him by the Pentagon , picking up shot-down Indian fighter pilots. The Beechcraft was later destroyed during an air raid by the IAF at a Pakistani airbase when Yeager was not present. Edward C. Ingraham, a U.S. diplomat who had served as political counselor to Ambassador Farland in Islamabad , recalled this incident in

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4074-499: The Air Force at Norton Air Force Base , California. Yeager made a cameo appearance in the movie The Right Stuff (1983). He played "Fred", a bartender at "Pancho's Place" , which was most appropriate, because he said, "if all the hours were ever totaled, I reckon I spent more time at her place than in a cockpit over those years". Sam Shepard portrayed Yeager in the film, which chronicles in part his famous 1947 record-breaking flight. Yeager has been referenced several times in

4171-706: The British as "arrogant" and "nasty" on Twitter. Yeager was commissioned a second lieutenant while at Leiston , and was promoted to captain before the end of his tour. He flew his 61st and final mission on January 15, 1945, and returned to the United States in early February 1945. As an evader, he received his choice of assignments and, because his new wife was pregnant, chose Wright Field to be near his home in West Virginia . His high number of flight hours and maintenance experience qualified him to become

4268-824: The French L'Etablissement Central de l'Aérostation Militaire in Meudon (now Office National d'Etudes et de Recherches Aerospatiales ), the German Aerodynamic Laboratory of the University of Göttingen , and the Russian Aerodynamic Institute of Koutchino (replaced in 1918 with the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI) , which is still in existence). The most influential agency upon which

4365-584: The Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement . In December 1975, the U.S. Congress awarded Yeager a silver medal "equivalent to a noncombat Medal of Honor ... for contributing immeasurably to aerospace science by risking his life in piloting the X-1 research airplane faster than the speed of sound on October 14, 1947". President Gerald Ford presented the medal to Yeager in

4462-846: The Kanawha Bridge and West Virginia named it the Chuck E. Yeager Bridge. On October 19, 2006, the state of West Virginia also honored Yeager with a marker along Corridor G (part of U.S. Highway 119 ) in his home Lincoln County , and also renamed part of it the Yeager Highway . Yeager was an honorary board member of the humanitarian organization Wings of Hope . On August 25, 2009, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver announced that Yeager would be one of 13 California Hall of Fame inductees in The California Museum 's yearlong exhibit. The induction ceremony

4559-652: The M2-F1. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers – the Northrop M2-F2 and the Northrop HL-10 , both built by the Northrop Corporation, and the U.S. Air Force's X-24 program. The lifting-body program also heavily influenced

4656-648: The Moon , the filmmakers made the claim that Yeager instructed staff and participants at the school that "Washington is trying to cram the nigger down our throats. [President] Kennedy is using this to make 'racial equality,' so do not speak to him, do not socialize with him, do not drink with him, do not invite him over to your house, and in six months he'll be gone." In his autobiography, Dwight details how Yeager's leadership led to discriminatory treatment throughout his training at Edwards Air Force Base. Between December 1963 and January 1964, Yeager completed five flights in

4753-610: The NACA was based was the British Advisory Committee for Aeronautics . In December 1912, President William Howard Taft had appointed a National Aerodynamical Laboratory Commission chaired by Robert S. Woodward , president of the Carnegie Institution of Washington . Legislation was introduced in both houses of Congress early in January 1913 to approve the commission, but when it came to a vote,

4850-418: The Naval Appropriations Bill. According to one source, "The enabling legislation for the NACA slipped through almost unnoticed as a rider attached to the Naval Appropriation Bill, on March 3, 1915." The committee of 12 people, all unpaid, were allocated a budget of $ 5,000 per year. President Woodrow Wilson signed it into law the same day, thus formally creating the Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, as it

4947-533: The P-38 Lightning. The X-1 program was first envisioned in 1944 when a former NACA engineer working for Bell Aircraft approached the Army for funding of a supersonic test aircraft. Neither the Army nor Bell had any experience in this area, so the majority of research came from the NACA Compressibility Research Division, which had been operating for more than a year by the time Bell began conceptual designs. The Compressibility Research Division also had years of additional research and data to pull from, as its head engineer

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5044-434: The PAF's operations. Yeager recalled "the Pakistanis whipped the Indians' asses in the sky... the Pakistanis scored a three-to-one kill ratio, knocking out 102 Russian-made Indian jets and losing 34 airplanes of their own". During the war, he flew around the western front in a helicopter documenting wreckages of Indian aircraft of Soviet origin which included Sukhoi Su-7s and MiG-21s . These aircraft were transported to

5141-415: The President to sanction the creation of NASA. He wrote that a civil space program should be based on a "strengthened and redesignated" NACA, indicating that NACA was a "going Federal research agency" with 7,500 employees and $ 300 million worth of facilities, which could expand its research program "with a minimum of delay". As of their meeting on May 26, 1958, committee members, starting clockwise from

5238-453: The Second World War. Nearly every aircraft used some form of forced induction that relied on information developed by NACA. Because of this, U.S.-produced aircraft had a significant power advantage above 15,000 feet, which was never fully countered by Axis forces. After the war had begun, the British government sent a request to North American Aviation for a new fighter. The offered P-40 Tomahawk fighters were considered too outdated to be

5335-460: The Special Committee on Space Technology. The committee, also called the Stever Committee after its chairman, Guyford Stever , was a special steering committee that was formed with the mandate to coordinate various branches of the federal government, private companies as well as universities within the United States with NACA's objectives and also harness their expertise in order to develop a space program. Wernher von Braun , technical director at

5432-456: The War Department to decide the requests, concurred with Yeager and Glover. In the meantime, Yeager shot down his second enemy aircraft, a German Junkers Ju 88 bomber, over the English Channel . Yeager demonstrated outstanding flying skills and combat leadership. On October 12, 1944, he became the first pilot in his group to make " ace in a day ," downing five enemy aircraft in a single mission. Two of these victories were scored without firing

5529-403: The X-1's hatch by himself. Ridley rigged up a device, using the end of a broom handle as an extra lever, to allow Yeager to seal the hatch. Yeager broke the sound barrier on October 14, 1947, in level flight while piloting the X-1 Glamorous Glennis at Mach 1.05 at an altitude of 45,000 ft (13,700 m) over the Rogers Dry Lake of the Mojave Desert in California. The success of

5626-449: The agency was dissolved and its assets and personnel were transferred to the newly created National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NACA is an initialism, i.e., pronounced as individual letters, rather than as a whole word (as was NASA during the early years after being established). Among other advancements, NACA research and development produced the NACA duct , a type of air intake used in modern automotive applications,

5723-406: The aircraft. NACA ran the experiments and data collection, and the bulk of the research used to develop the aircraft came from NACA engineer John Stack , the head of NACA's compressibility division. Compressibility is a major issue as aircraft approach Mach 1, and research into solving the problem drew heavily on information collected during previous NACA wind tunnel testing to assist Lockheed with

5820-510: The area rule. (Aircraft so altered were known as "area ruled" aircraft.) The design changes allowed the aircraft to exceed Mach 1, but only by a small margin, as the rest of the Convair design was not optimized for this. As the F-11F was the first design to incorporate this during initial design, it was able to break the sound barrier without having to use afterburner. Because the area rule was initially classified, it took several years for Whitcomb to be recognized for his accomplishment. In 1955 he

5917-459: The couple had four children. Glennis Yeager died in 1990, predeceasing her husband by 30 years. His cousin, Steve Yeager , was a professional baseball catcher . Yeager enlisted as a private in the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) on September 12, 1941, and became an aircraft mechanic at George Air Force Base , Victorville, California . At enlistment, Yeager was not eligible for flight training because of his age and educational background, but

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6014-399: The early 1920s, it had adopted a new and more ambitious mission: to promote military and civilian aviation through applied research that looked beyond current needs. NACA researchers pursued this mission through the agency's impressive collection of in-house wind tunnels, engine test stands, and flight test facilities. Commercial and military clients were also permitted to use NACA facilities on

6111-502: The entry of the U.S. into World War II less than three months later prompted the USAAF to alter its recruiting standards. Yeager had unusually sharp vision (a visual acuity rated 20/10), which once enabled him to shoot a deer at 600 yd (550 m). At the time of his flight training acceptance, he was a crew chief on an AT-11 . He received his pilot wings and a promotion to flight officer at Luke Field , Arizona , where he graduated from Class 43C on March 10, 1943. Assigned to

6208-406: The fifth greatest pilot of all time in 2003. Regardless of his lack of higher education, West Virginia's Marshall University named its highest academic scholarship the Society of Yeager Scholars in his honor. He was the chairman of Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA)'s Young Eagle Program from 1994 to 2004, and was named the program's chairman emeritus. In 1966, Yeager was inducted into

6305-399: The first series of flights of the M2-F1 was NASA research pilot Milt Thompson. Typical glide flights with the M2-F1 lasted about two minutes and reached speeds of 110 to 120 miles per hour (180 to 190 km/h). Tow release was at 12,000 feet (3,700 m). The lifting body descended at an average rate of about 3,600 feet per minute (1,100 m/min). At 1,000 feet (300 m) above the ground,

6402-427: The flight with a few more tows behind the Pontiac. Forward visibility in the M2-F1 was very limited on tow, requiring Thompson to fly about 20 feet (6.1 m) higher than the C-47, so he could see the plane through the nose window. Towing speed was about 100 miles per hour (160 km/h). The C-47 took the craft to an altitude of 12,000 feet (3,700 m), where free flights back to Rogers Dry Lake began. Pilot for

6499-453: The following years. In 1962, he became the first commandant of the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School , which trained and produced astronauts for NASA and the Air Force. Yeager later commanded fighter squadrons and wings in Germany, as well as in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War . In recognition of his achievements and the outstanding performance ratings of those units, he was promoted to brigadier general in 1969 and inducted into

6596-408: The lead character, Captain Jonathan Archer , as being "halfway between Chuck Yeager and Han Solo ". For several years in the 1980s, Yeager was connected to General Motors , publicizing ACDelco , the company's automotive parts division. In 1986, he was invited to drive the Chevrolet Corvette pace car for the 70th running of the Indianapolis 500 . In 1988 , Yeager was again invited to drive

6693-413: The left of the above picture: Chuck Yeager Brigadier General Charles Elwood Yeager ( / ˈ j eɪ ɡ ər / YAY -gər , February 13, 1923 – December 7, 2020) was a United States Air Force officer, flying ace , and record-setting test pilot who in October 1947 became the first pilot in history confirmed to have exceeded the speed of sound in level flight. Yeager

6790-416: The legislation was defeated. Charles D. Walcott , secretary of the Smithsonian Institution from 1907 to 1927, took up the effort, and in January 1915, Senator Benjamin R. Tillman , and Representative Ernest W. Roberts introduced identical resolutions recommending the creation of an advisory committee as outlined by Walcott. The purpose of the committee was "to supervise and direct the scientific study of

6887-419: The main landing gear wheels, and stopped when he lowered the nose to the ground. He tried again, but each time with the same results. He felt it was a landing gear problem that could have caused the aircraft to roll on its back if he had lifted the main gear off the ground. After looking at movies of the tests, it was decided that the bouncing was probably caused by unwanted rudder movements. The control system

6984-463: The matter and overruled NACA objections to higher air speeds. NACA built a handful of new high-speed wind tunnels, and Mach 0.75 (570 mph (495 kn; 917 km/h)) was reached at Moffett's 16-foot (4.9 m) wind tunnel late in 1942. NACA's first wind tunnel was formally dedicated at Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory on June 11, 1920. It was the first of many now-famous NACA and NASA wind tunnels. Although this specific wind tunnel

7081-681: The mission was not announced to the public for nearly eight months, until June 10, 1948. Yeager was awarded the Mackay Trophy and the Collier Trophy in 1948 for his mach-transcending flight, and the Harmon International Trophy in 1954. The X-1 he flew that day was later put on permanent display at the Smithsonian Institution 's National Air and Space Museum . During 1952, he attended

7178-410: The nose was lowered to increase speed to about 150 miles per hour (240 km/h), flare was at 200 feet (61 m) from a 20° dive. The landing was smooth, and the lifting-body program was on its way. The M2-F1 was flown until August 16, 1966. It proved the lifting-body concept and led the way for subsequent metal "heavyweight" designs. Chuck Yeager , Bruce Peterson and Donald L. Mallick also flew

7275-710: The other hand, NACA's 1941 refusal to increase airspeed in their wind tunnels set Lockheed back a year in their quest to solve the problem of compressibility encountered in high speed dives made by the Lockheed P-38 Lightning . The full-size 30-by-60-foot (9.1 m × 18.3 m) Langley wind tunnel operated at no more than 100 mph (87 kn; 160 km/h) and the then-recent 7-by-10-foot (2.1 m × 3.0 m) tunnels at Moffett could only reach 250 mph (220 kn; 400 km/h). These were speeds Lockheed engineers considered useless for their purposes. General Henry H. Arnold took up

7372-843: The pace car, this time at the wheel of an Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme . In 1986, President Reagan appointed Yeager to the Rogers Commission that investigated the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger . During this time, Yeager also served as a technical adviser for three Electronic Arts flight simulator video games. The games include Chuck Yeager's Advanced Flight Trainer , Chuck Yeager's Advanced Flight Trainer 2.0 , and Chuck Yeager's Air Combat . The game manuals feature quotes and anecdotes from Yeager and were well received by players. Missions feature several of Yeager's accomplishments and let players challenge his records. Chuck Yeager's Advanced Flight Trainer

7469-434: The passenger could observe the aircraft. This proved successful, and tow tests continued. Speeds on tow inched up to 110 miles per hour (180 km/h), which allowed Thompson to climb to about 20 feet (6.1 m), then glide for about 20 seconds after releasing the line. That was the most that could be expected during an auto tow. These initial tests produced enough flight data about the M2-F1 to proceed with flights behind

7566-474: The problems of flight with a view to their practical solution, and to determine the problems which should be experimentally attacked and to discuss their solution and their application to practical questions". Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt wrote that he "heartily [endorsed] the principle" on which the legislation was based. Walcott suggested the tactic of adding the resolution to

7663-433: The scheduled flight date, Yeager broke two ribs when he fell from a horse. He was worried that the injury would remove him from the mission and reported that he went to a civilian doctor in nearby Rosamond , who taped his ribs. Besides his wife who was riding with him, Yeager told only his friend and fellow project pilot Jack Ridley about the accident. On the day of the flight, Yeager was in such pain that he could not seal

7760-769: The seat base slammed into Yeager, with the still-hot rocket motor breaking his helmet's plastic faceplate and causing his emergency oxygen supply to catch fire. The resulting burns to his face required extensive and agonizing medical care. This was Yeager's last attempt at setting test-flying records. In 1966, Yeager took command of the 405th Tactical Fighter Wing at Clark Air Base , the Philippines , whose squadrons were deployed on rotational temporary duty (TDY) in South Vietnam and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. There he flew 127 missions. In February 1968, Yeager

7857-547: The shared Star Trek universe, including having a namesake fictional type of starship, a dangerous starship formation -maneuver named after him called the "Yeager Loop" (most notably mentioned in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode " The First Duty "), and appearing in archival footage within the opening title sequence for the series Star Trek: Enterprise (2001–2005). For Enterprise , executive producer Rick Berman said that he envisaged

7954-619: The sound "barrier", the USAAF selected the 24-year-old Yeager to fly the rocket-powered Bell XS-1 in a NACA program to research high-speed flight. Under the National Security Act of 1947 , the USAAF became the United States Air Force (USAF) on September 18. Such was the difficulty, that the answers to many of the inherent challenges were like "Yeager better have paid-up insurance". Two nights before

8051-424: The wheels became stuck in the mud, bringing the plane to a sudden stop and provoking Yeager to fits of laughter. They had to wait for rescue. Yeager's participation in the test pilot training program for NASA included controversial behavior. Yeager reportedly did not believe that Ed Dwight , the first African American pilot admitted into the program, should be a part of it. In the 2019 documentary series Chasing

8148-496: Was Electronic Art's top-selling game for 1987. In 2009, Yeager participated in the documentary The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club , a profile of his friend Pancho Barnes . The documentary was screened at film festivals, aired on public television in the United States, and won an Emmy Award . On October 14, 1997, on the 50th anniversary of his historic flight past Mach 1, he flew

8245-805: Was a full colonel in 1962, after completion of a year's studies and final thesis on STOL aircraft at the Air War College . He became the first commandant of the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School , which produced astronauts for NASA and the USAF , after its redesignation from the USAF Flight Test Pilot School. He had only a high school education, so he was not eligible to become an astronaut like those he trained. In April 1962, Yeager made his only flight with Neil Armstrong . Their job, flying

8342-643: Was assigned as the Air Attache in Pakistan to advise the Pakistan Air Force which was led by Abdur Rahim Khan (the first Pakistani to break the sound barrier). He arrived in Pakistan at a time when tensions with India were at a high level. One of Yeager's jobs during this time was to assist Pakistani technicians in installing AIM-9 Sidewinders on PAF's Shenyang F-6 fighters. He also had

8439-734: Was assigned command of the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base , North Carolina , and led the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II wing in South Korea during the Pueblo crisis . Yeager was promoted to brigadier general and was assigned in July 1969 as the vice-commander of the Seventeenth Air Force . From 1971 to 1973, at the behest of Ambassador Joseph Farland , Yeager

8536-697: Was awarded the Collier Trophy for his work on both the Tiger and the F-102. The most important design resulting from the area rule was the B-58 Hustler , which was already in development at the time. It was redesigned to take the area rule into effect, allowing greatly improved performance. This was the first US supersonic bomber, and was capable of Mach 2 at a time when Soviet fighters had only just attained that speed months earlier. The area rule concept

8633-450: Was called in the legislation, on the last day of the 63rd Congress . The act of Congress creating NACA, approved March 3, 1915, reads, "...It shall be the duty of the advisory committee for aeronautics to supervise and direct the scientific study of the problems of flight with a view to their practical solution. ... " On January 29, 1920, President Wilson appointed pioneering flier and aviation engineer Orville Wright to NACA's board. By

8730-544: Was foremost a fighter pilot and held several squadron and wing commands. From 1954 to 1957, he commanded the F-86H Sabre -equipped 417th Fighter-Bomber Squadron (50th Fighter-Bomber Wing) at Hahn AB , West Germany , and Toul-Rosieres Air Base, France ; and from 1957 to 1960 the F-100D Super Sabre -equipped 1st Fighter Day Squadron at George Air Force Base , California, and Morón Air Base , Spain . He

8827-471: Was modified so that the joystick controlled the elevons rather than the rudder, which solved the problem. It was found that the car used to tow the aircraft was not powerful enough to lift the M2-F1 entirely off the ground, so the FRC arranged to have the tow car hot-rodded by Bill Straub: the modifications tuned the engine for increased power, added a rollbar, and turned the front passenger seat to face aft so

8924-430: Was not unique or advanced, it enabled NACA engineers and scientists to develop and test new and advanced concepts in aerodynamics and to improve future wind tunnel design. In the years immediately preceding World War II, NACA was involved in the development of several designs that served key roles in the war effort. When engineers at a major engine manufacturer were having issues producing superchargers that would allow

9021-585: Was on December 1, 2009, in Sacramento, California . Flying Magazine ranked Yeager number 5 on its 2013 list of The 51 Heroes of Aviation; for many years, he was the highest-ranked living person on the list. The Civil Air Patrol , the volunteer auxiliary of the USAF , awards the Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager Award to its senior members as part of its Aerospace Education program. Regular Army ( Army Air Corps ) Regular Army ( Army Air Forces ) Army of

9118-451: Was previously head of the high speed wind tunnel division, which itself had nearly a decade of high speed test data by that time. Due to the importance of NACA involvement, Stack was personally awarded the Collier Trophy along with the owner of Bell Aircraft and test pilot Chuck Yeager. In 1951, NACA Engineer Richard Whitcomb determined the area rule that explained transonic flow over an aircraft. The first uses of this theory were on

9215-877: Was raised in Hamlin, West Virginia . His career began in World War II as a private in the United States Army , assigned to the Army Air Forces in 1941. After serving as an aircraft mechanic, in September 1942, he entered enlisted pilot training and upon graduation was promoted to the rank of flight officer (the World War II Army Air Force version of the Army's warrant officer ), later achieving most of his aerial victories as

9312-545: Was reinstated to flying combat. He had joined another evader, fellow P-51 pilot 1st Lt Fred Glover, in speaking directly to the Supreme Allied Commander , General Dwight D. Eisenhower , on June 12, 1944. "I raised so much hell that General Eisenhower finally let me go back to my squadron" Yeager said. "He cleared me for combat after D Day , because all the free Frenchmen – Maquis and people like that – had surfaced". Eisenhower, after gaining permission from

9409-502: Was shot down over France in his first aircraft (P-51B-5-NA s/n 43-6763) on March 5, 1944, on his eighth mission. He escaped to Spain on March 30, 1944, with the help of the Maquis (French Resistance) and returned to England on May 15, 1944. During his stay with the Maquis , Yeager assisted the guerrillas in duties that did not involve direct combat; he helped construct bombs for the group,

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