Legendary American pilot Chuck Yeager dies, the first to break the sound barrier
A fighter pilot in World War II, Yeager rose to fame by breaking the sound barrier on the experimental Bell X-1 aircraft in 1947, which opened the doors to the American space program.
American aviation legend Chuck Yeager, the first pilot to break the sound barrier. Died on Monday at age 97, his wife announced.
“It is with the deep sorrow that I must tell you that the love of my life. General Chuck Yeager, died shortly before 9:00 pm ET,” Victoria Yeager wrote on her husband’s Twitter account.
“He had an incredible life, well-lived. He was the greatest pilot in the United States, and his legacy of strength, adventure and patriotism will be remembered forever,”.
Fr @VictoriaYeage11 It is w/ profound sorrow, I must tell you that my life love General Chuck Yeager passed just before 9pm ET. An incredible life well lived, America’s greatest Pilot, & a legacy of strength, adventure, & patriotism will be remembered forever.
— Chuck Yeager (@GenChuckYeager) December 8, 2020
She did not specify the main cause of death for her husband. WWII fighter pilot catapulted to fame by breaking the sound barrier on the experimental Bell X-1 aircraft in 1947, helping pave the space program’s way.
“That opened the door to space, Star Wars, satellites,” Yeager said in 2007 in an interview with AFP.
His pilot tests were later immortalising in the 1983 film “The Right Stuff.”
Born February 13, 1923, in the small city of Myra, West Virginia. He grew up repairing trucks along with his father.
Shot down over a dozen Nazi military aircraft
He joined the Aviation in Sep 1941, 3 months before the united states entered the war, and commenced as an aircraft mechanic before training as a pilot.
He additionally set several other aviation records. Most of his career was spent as a military commander in command of combat squadrons within 1950-1960.
Although best best-known for having piloted the first supersonic flight, Yeager flew more than two hundred different kinds of military aircraft throughout his 34-year career in the Air Force, reports CNN.
Once he was a fighter pilot during war II, he shot down over a dozen German planes. Among alternative feats, he’s supported to own shot down more than four craft in a single day: national holiday and Nov 27, 1944, in step with an equivalent chain.
He also flew combat missions throughout the Korean and Vietnam wars. Yeager created a foundation to help fund young pilot programs and faculty scholarships. Yeager got retirement from the Air Force in 1975.
He marries Glennis Faye Dickhouse from Feb 26, 1945, till his death on Gregorian calendar month 22, 1990. The couple has four children. He then married Victoria Scott D’Angelo in August 2003.