But Yeager took the 31-foot (10 meter) X-1, powered by liquid oxygen and alcohol, to Mach 1.06, about 700 mph (1,126 kph) at 43,000 feet (13,000 meters), as if it were a routine flight. Neither Yeager nor aviation engineers knew if the plane – or the pilot – would be able to handle the unprecedented speed without breaking up. Because of the pain, he had to use a sawed-off broomstick to close the X-1’s cockpit before takeoff.Ī B-29 bomber carried the X-1 26,000 feet (7,925 m) over California’s Mojave Desert and let it go.

He had broken two ribs in a horseback riding accident a few days before but did not tell his superiors for fear they would ground him.

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Yeager later commanded fighter squadrons in Germany and Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War and was promoted to brigadier general in 1969.

For this feat, Yeager received both the Collier and Mackay trophies in 1948. After the war, he became a test pilot, flying the experimental Bell X-1 at an altitude of 45,000 feet to become the first human to officially break the sound barrier. Yeager began his career during World War II as a private in the United States Army Air Forces. An incredible life well lived, America’s greatest Pilot, & a legacy of strength, adventure, & patriotism will be remembered forever. “An incredible life well lived, America’s greatest pilot and a legacy of strength, adventure and patriotism will be remembered forever.”įr It is w/ profound sorrow, I must tell you that my life love General Chuck Yeager passed just before 9pm ET. “It is with profound sorrow, I must tell you that my life love General Chuck Yeager passed just before 9 p.m. Yeager’s wife, Victoria Yeager, announced his death on Twitter Monday night. Chuck Yeager, the first person to break the sound barrier and a subject of the book and film “ The Right Stuff,” has died.

Chuck yeager the right stuff book