European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 30, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Actor Sam Shepard left and Yeager during the filming of the right stuff. Spinning Down like a record on a turntable.,/ Chuck Yeager the first Man to break the sound Barrier tells in the Linal Par of a series adapted irom his autobiography How he almost bought the Larm going for an Altitude record. Editor. By Chuck Yeager and Leo Janos special to the stars and stripes Lockheed s Star lighter. The f-104, was the first mad 2 fighter aircraft and the first lob reak the sound Barrier in a climb. I had flight tested in Lor the air Force Back in 1954. Theair plane had a bad pitch up problem. Flying in at a 30-degree Angle of attack its Short thin wings blanketed its to shaped Tail causing the nose to suddenly Rise Dia magically. The next thing a Pilot knew he was in a Flat spin toward Earth pushing the throttle Forward As far As it would go High engine rpm being the Only Way to recover a 104 Oul of a Flat spin. The special rocket powered 104s we had at the space school had the same pitch up problem. Lockheed delivered three of them to us in 1903 for use in High Altitude Zero g training. Before our student began flying them. I decided to establish some operating parameters to learn at what Altitude the aerodynamic pitch up Force would be greater than the amount of thrust in the Hydrogen peroxide rockets installed on the nose. We had two 250-Pound thrusters to train for mane vering in Zero g conditions we thought we would encounter pitch up somewhere around 95.000 feet. And while i was at it i wanted to establish an Altitude record in the Rockel version of the 104. I flew it on the morning of dec. 12. 1973. And had the air plane up to 108,000 Leet. Ii had gone beautifully and i was scheduled for a second flight in the afternoon. Mom was visiting us. And my Wile Glennis drove her Over to base operations. We had a Quick lunch i was still wearing my Bulky pressure suit because once you get sweaty and take in Oil you can t gel it Back on. Then they took Oil and so did i. I climbed to 35.000 Leet about 100 Miles from Edwards air Force base at the foot end of California s san Joaquin Valley near Eraser Peak and headed Lor Rogers dry Lake Al 37,000 feet in afterburner. I was Page 14 the stars and stripes travelling at belter than Mach 2 when i fired the 6.000 Pound Chrusl rocket in my Tail that burned a mixture of Hydrogen peroxide and Jet fuel. By then. I was climbing at a Steep 70-degree Angle whistling through 60,000 feet and the afterburner blamed out. Oxygen starved in the thin atmosphere. That was expected. Later. I planned to go into a shallow dive to allow the engine Blades to Windmill in the Rush of air working up the necessary revolutions enabling re ignition in the lower air. At about 40.000 Leet. So i shut Down the engine and let the rocket carry me Over the top. I had to watch my tailpipe temperature because of my Steep climbing Angle it would Over Lemp even though i was on Idle. I went Over the top at 104.000 feet and As the air plane completed its Long arc. It fell Over. But the Angle of attack reached 26 degrees the nose pitched up. That had happened in the morning flight As Well. I used the Small rocket thrusters on the nose to push it Down. I had no problem then. This Lime the damned thrusters had no effect. I kept those peroxide ports open using All my peroxide trying to get that nose Down but i could t. My nose was stuck High and the damned air plane finally fell Oil Flat and went into a spin. I was spinning Down like a record on a turntable and because i could t get into a shallow dive and drive air through the engine Turbine my rpm were falling Oil drastically. I had no Hydraulic pressure because that operated off the engine which had wound Down to the Point where it had stopped and locked at about 40.000 Teet. I was Leeling kind of hopeless about this ride. The data recorder would later indicate that the air plane made 14 Flat spins irom 104.000 until Impact on the desert floor. I stayed with it through 13 of those spins before i punched out. I haled losing an expensive air plane but i could t think of anything else to do. I went ahead and punched out. My pressure suit was inflated and a rocket charge underneath blew me and my seat straight up at 90 Mph. An automatic c vice unhooked my seat Belt and released the pan. Nute ring from the seat. A seat butt kicker another Small charge kicked me out and straight Down. I began falling picking up Speed tumbling head first toward Earth and i saw that damned seat tumbling with me. Somehow becoming entangled in my Chute lines. There was still residual fire in the Back of that  Frorer the Rockel charge and my shroud liner began soldering. Christ i saw that clearly. The Chute popped jarring inc and i sweated that those lines had t Burnt through. I had a Quick sense of relict though because the popping Chute dislodged the seat. Then the seat smashed into my lace. I got clobbered by the tube end of the Rockel. Glowing red hot ii just knocked the Oul of me. It Hil me so hard that i really did  what happened. Busied the faceplate of my or list. I raw stars suddenly Thore was a rank. Burning mull in thai sent ignited the rubber Seal / around try helmet am in the pure oxygen environment. / in erupted like a wow  my of , was engulfed in i could t breathe. I Coul Fri i  out of my left Eye where the    d Rev i was choking to death on smoke gasping i  a a breath. I stuck my hand  the open faceplate and tried to scoop in air to breathe. My gloved hand caught on lire. I thought what a Way logo i was still hooked to an emergency oxygen bottle feeding oxygen to the flames. By instinct. I pushed up the visor on what was left of my helmet. That automatically shut Oft the oxygen. By then 1 was very Cloe to the ground and there was still residual flame smoke and soot pouring Oul of my helmet. I Hil the or ounce hard. I could hear Andy Bud Anderson who was flying the Chase plane buzzing me and managed to wave at him on his second to round. I finally got up and took off my Parachute harness pulling apart the scorched shroud lines with my Bare hands. Then i pushed the release locks on the neck ring connected to Rny pressure suit helmet rotated it. And look off my helmet. Until then. I Don l think anyone had Ever taken Oft a pressure suit helmet without help. It is literally impossible to get All those latches unlocked by yourself i Don l know How in hell i did it. I recall glancing at my helmet with my Good right Eye. And it really looked like War. It was bloody and burned and smashed. I was dazed standing alone on the desert my helmet crooked in one Arm. My hand hurling so bad that i thought i would pass out. My face did t Hurt at All. Saw a Young Guy running toward me i had come Down Only mile or so from Highway 6 that goes to Bishop out of Mojave and he watched me land in my Chute then parked his pickup and came to offer his help. He looked Al me. Then turned away. My face was charred meal. I asked him if is had a knife. He took out a Small Penknife unfolded the Blade and handed it to me. I said to him i be gotta do something about my hand. I can t stand it any  i used his knife to Cut off the rubber lined Glove and part of two burned fingers came Oft with it. The Guy got sick. Then the chopper came for me. I remember the medics running up. I asked them can you do something for my hand it s just killing  they Gav me n shot of morphine through Rny pressure suit. They could t get the suit off because it had to be unzipped Al the Way Down and then i d have to get my head out through the Metal ring but my face was in such sorry condition that they did t dare. At the Hospital they brought in local firemen with Bolt cutters to try to Cut hat ring off my neck. It us would t do the Job. Finally i said. Look in the right pocket of my pressure suit and get that survival saw out of  it was a Little ring saw that i always carried with me even on backpacks and they zapped through that ring in less Ihan a minute. I began dozing Oil from the morphine Only half aware that my wife Grennis was there but Doc Stan Bear the flight surgeon kept shaking me Wake. He was probing into the blood caked Over my left Eye. Where there w8j deep Gash. The blood was glazed like Glass irom the heat of me fire and Doc kept poking through it asking me in i could see anything. I said. No. I heard him mutter. Christ. I guess he lost  but suddenly i saw a Ray of Light through a Small Hole. I told Doc and he smiled. That dried blood saved your sight buddy he said then he let me pass out. They had me on an in and i was so groggy the next Day that when Gen. Irving Branch who ran the flight test Center at Edwards came by and i tried to Tell him what happened. I fell asleep in the Middle of a sentence. Glennis. Andy. Bob Hoover and test Pilot Tony lever. Came to visit but i was hardly aware. They were keeping me on pain killers. So. It was several Days before i realized How bad Ihms really were. My lace was swollen to the size of a. Pumpkin badly charred from being blow torched. Of. Stan Bear came in and sat Down. He said Well Chu Depp be got Good news and bad news. The i Good news the j that your lungs have not been permanently damaged