Did Yeager get a pass on the under the bridge pass?

[mikea]

Boggs wrote a long story about the boat races the following day. The article mentioned Yeager's visit: "Capt. Charles Yeager of Hamlin, the first man to exceed the speed of sound in a Bell XS-1 jet, buzzed the course shortly after 3:30 p.m. as he started back to his base in California.
...
"Flying under a bridge violated all kinds of Air Force and FAA regulations. He didn't ask me directly if Yeager flew under the bridge. Instead, he wanted to know if my story would include anything 'unusual.'

BUT Get this:

He frequently borrowed P-51 jets from the Guard just to fly around, McLaughlin said. "One time, he brought his brother with him. Those jets only have one seat. He put his brother on his lap and climbed to the end of the northwest runway. Just as the gear was coming up, he did a slow roll with his brother strapped to his lap."

http://www.wvgazette.com/News/200810040471

"P-51 jets?"

I sitll say if Yeager was such a problem child he wouldn't have made Brig General. The scene of him taking the rocket-powered NF-104 up unauthorized in "The Right Stuff" movie was booooogus. "We MUST have the paperwork, right?.."

 

[steingar]

Actually, the crash shown in The Right Stuff was completely his fault; he just didn't follow procedures. He than blamed someone else, I believe in the design team. He was great on the stick but had the reputation of being a real SOB.

 

[Anthony]

I always thought Scotty Crossfield was a better test pilot and someone that didn't blow his own horn constantly.

 

[Trapper John]

I always thought Scotty Crossfield was a better test pilot and someone that didn't blow his own horn constantly.

If you haven't already read Crossfield's book, "Always Another Dawn", it's a really good read.


Trapper John

 

[mikea]

Actually, the crash shown in The Right Stuff was completely his fault; he just didn't follow procedures. He than blamed someone else, I believe in the design team. He was great on the stick but had the reputation of being a real SOB.

Yep. What was phony - Hollywoodish - was the idea he just hopped in the NF
NF-104A rocket jet and went for a joyride.

The engineer on the NF104 tells the story of the crash and coverup.
http://www.nf104.com/stories/stories_12.html

Maybe there was coverup because he was destined to be a Brig. General. He was the Air Force hero.