FL 200 in 3:42 After Brake Release!

Seneca38173

Here's a great mid-1980s video of General Chuck Yeager setting climb records with the Piper 400LS. That IRC is 6000'/minute!

Harley Kleemann

I had great respect for Yeager, until Oshkosh, either in 1996 or '97. He was in a group of people around a P-51, and a kid came up to him and said, "Excuse me, Mr. Yeager, could I please have your autograph?" Yeager looked at the kid and said, "What's with the Mr. Yeager, I'm GENERAL Yeager" The kid looked like he was going to cry, he turned and walked away. A bunch of people shook their heads and walked away from Yeager. I was one of them.

Scott Sherer

Hi Harley,
Big ego to go with big accomplishments. But did you have any Beemans gum?

Seneca38173

Guys - are none of my childhood heroes sacred? Oh well, at least I still have my dad! Bob

Harley Kleemann

Contrast Chuck Yeager with Bob Hoover or Scott Crossfield. Both Hoover and Crossfield were superb pilots, and at an airshow or fly-in, they were completely approachable and easy to have a conversation with. When I was in the US Air Force, one of the guys in my outfit had been at George AFB in California when Yeager ran a squadron of F-100s. He said Yeager was the biggest egotistical a$$hole that he ever knew. Was Yeager a good pilot? Absolutely. But, apparently he is a complete jerk. He sued his own children! He has sued so many people and lost so many lawsuits that he has been labeled a "vexatious litigant", and is barred from filing any type of suit in the state of California. Like I stated, I used to have great respect for him, until I witnessed him bring a 9-year-old kid to tears.