European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 22, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse Aviation hero Yeager in 1985 photo. Feeling Bill or. So to went Over to Pancho s place for dinner. On Iho a Over i Aid Ugi ring. To How about Riding horses to ear so was raised around horses and War a Beaumel rider. Pancho s place War n dude ranch so alter d inner to walked Over to the Corral and had them Sadd e up n couple of to sos it was a pretty night and Rodn for about an hour through the Joshua vireos we decided to race Back. Unfortunately Shore War no Moon. Otherwise i would have seen that Tho Goto to had gone out of was. Now closed 1 Only saw the Gate when i War practically on top of it i was slightly in the Lead and i tried to veer my horse and miss it but it was too late. We i the Gate and 1 tumbled through the air. The horse got Cut and i was knocked silly. The next thing i remember was Glennis kneeling Over me asking me if i was Okay. I was woozy and she helped me stand up. It took n lot to straighten up. Feeling like i had a Spear in my Side. Glennis knew immediately. You broke a she said. She was ail Lor driving straight to the base Hospital isaid. No the flight surgeon will ground me. Wolf you can t Fly with broken she argued i told Hor. Ill can to i won t. Iii can. I monday morning. I struggled out of bed. My shoulder was sore and i ached generally from bumps and bruises but my ribs near to killed me. The pain took my breath away. Glennis drove me Over to Rozemond. R a Yeager wore a tank Driver helmet and had Only a primitive oxygen Tyi tem in the Max a when he Etta Blithe a world Speed record of More than 1.600 Mph m 1953. u o m your loll hand id a up done if it i t it up at or t Lar Eno i a where you got Boll fund. In it and it a gup on in " i face cil irn Nestick. My it lit a i it into ii Lour hand1" then i crawled i a ii a 1 an to hied it a hold the door against i1." 1 a. An 1 that Boom tick to raise Iho. .11. I found i could manage to lock it to nod ,1 ,-.o r hire limes a 111 worked Fjug final rtdl"1/ id. A us son. Are you Gonna got Down thai ladder " i said. One rung at a Linn ichor that or can piggyback to " Jack respected my judgment As Long As your a by think you can Hack to Aid to left that piece of Broomstick in the x-1 cockpit Glennis drove me to Tho b at is Tho be i morning she was t Happy with my decision to Fly. But Slie knew that Jack would Novor m to Lako Oil it he loll i would get into trouble Hoover and Jack Russell the x 1 Crew chief heard i was dumped Oil a horse at Pancho s but thought the Only damage or to a ego. And hit Rno with some i to Silver crap As Oil As a Carrot a pair of glasses and a rope in a Brown paper baggy bucking Bronco survival kit. Around eight. I climbed aboard the Mother ship. Trio flight plan colled for me to reach .97 Mach. The Way i toll where a local doctor confirmed i had two cracked ribs. And taped me up. He told me to take in easy. The tape of really helped. The pain was at least manageable and i was Able to drive myself to the base that afternoon. I wat really Low. I Felt on top of those flights now and i wanted to get them Over with. And As much As i was hurting. I could Only imagine what the old Man would say if i was grounded Lor falling Oft a horse. So i my Down with Jack Ridley and told him my troubles. I Eald if this were the first flight. I would t even think about trying it with these busted sum bitches. But. Hell. I know every move i be Yot to make and most of the fan or switches Are right on the control wheel he said True but How in hell Are you Gonna be Able to lock the cockpit doors that takes some lifting and so we walked into the hangar to see what we were up against. We looked at the door and talked in Over. Jack said. Lei s see if we can get a stick or something that you Ber 22.1985 that Day. .97 would be enough. On that first rocket ride. I had a Tiger by the Tail but by this ninth flight i Felt i was in the Driver s seat. I knew that air plane inside and out i did t think it would turn against to. Hell then.1 was t much i could do to Hurt in it was built to withstand Throe limes As much stress As i could survive i did t think the sound Baner would destroy her. Either. But the Only Way to prove it was to do it. That moving Tail really bolstered my morale and i wanted to go to that sound Barrier. I supposed there were advantages in creeping up on Mach i but my vote was to Stop screwing around before we had some stupid Accident that could Cost us not Only a Mission but the entire project. If this Mission was successful. I was planning to really push for a sound Barrier attempt on the very next flight. Going Down that damned ladder Hurt. Jack was right behind me. As usual. I Slid feet first into the Cabin. I picked up the Broom handle and waited while Ridley hell be ,." i said1 i s n i it with " a dropped he x i at l .0r " Fet to i to i once 1 to Law at i in x 1 started i fought it Vith ii Onsri wheel Lor about i 0 i it her no. the moment we picked up Speed i fired All Lour rocket chamber in rapid Cuenco we climbed Al b8 Mach and began to Bullet so i flipped the Tab switch and changed the setting two degrees we smoothed right out. And Al 31 .000 feel. I turned Oil rocket chamber. Al 40.000 feet to were still climbing Al a ipod of ? Mach i Osoling Oil at .1?,000 loot. I had so percent of my fuel so i Turner on oct of t Hamber three and immediately reached of Mach i noticed that the Aster i got. Tho smoother the ride suddenly Iho Inch Riendl began to Liu Othalo ii went up to fit each then lipped Nghil Oil the scale i thought i was seeing things to Wen Hying supersonic audit was As smooth As a baby s Bottom grandma could to Silling up there sipping lemonade i kit the Speed Olf the scale Lor about a seconds then raised the nose to slow Down i was thunderstruck. Alter nil Tho anxiety breaking the sound Barrier turned out Lobo a por Lestly paved Speedway i radioed j in the b-?9. Hoy Ridley thai Mach Nelor is acting screwy. Ii just went Oil the scale on fluctuated Oll yeah at Point son. You is imagining things " Musi be i m still wearing my ears and nothing else fell Olf. the Guys in the Naca tracking Van interrupted to report that they heard what sounded like a Distant rumble of Thunder my sonic Boom the first one by an air plane Ever heard on Earth. The x-1 was supposedly capable of reaching nearly twice Iho Speed of sound but the Mach Reler aboard Only registered to 1.0 Mach. Which showed How much Confidence they had. I estimated i had reached 1 of Mach. Later data showed it was 1.07 Mach 700 Mph and that was it. I sat up there tooling kind of numb but elated after All Tho anticipation to achieve this moment it really was a lot Down it look a damned instrument motor to Tell me what i d done there should pc been a bump on the Road something to let you know you Tiad ust punched a race clean Holo through that sonic Barrier the ugh known was a poke through jello later on i that this Mission had to end in a let Down because the real Barrier was t in i he sky bul in our knowledge and experience of supersonic flight. I landed tired but relieved to have hacked the program there is always Strain in research flying it s the same As flying in combat where you never can be sure of Iho outcome. You try not to think about possible disaster bul fear is churning around inside whether you think of it consciously or not i thought now that i d reached the lop of the Mountain the remainder of these x-1 flights would to downhill. Bul having sailed me solely through the sonic Barrier. Iho x-1 had plenty of while knuckle flights in store Over Iho next year. Tho real hero in the Ili Ghl test business is a Pilot who manages to survive. And so i was a hero this Day As usual the fire trucks raced out to Whoie the ship had rolled to a Stop on the Lake bed. As usual. I hitched a ride Back to the hangar with the fire chief. That warm desert Sun really left wonderful my ribs ached. Next Yeager s escape from nazi occupied trance As a Young army air corps Pilot excerpted from vent a. An autobiography by Chuck Yeager and Leo Janos. Published by Bantam books inc. C 1985, by Yenger. Inc. By permission of the publisher. All rights reserved. Distributed by los Angeles times Syndicate. 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