On this day in 1947 Bell X-1 test pilot Chuck Yeager became the first man to fly faster than sound. With broken ribs.
To close hatch on X-1, hindered by my broken ribs, Ridley sawed off a broomstick, gave me a piece.It worked. Then, I broke the sound barrier
— Chuck Yeager (@GenChuckYeager) October 15, 2015
The night before his record breaking flight his wife challenged him to a horse race. His horse threw him and he broke some ribs on his right side, same side as the hatch on the X-1. He had a veterinarian tape up his ribs, didn't want to get grounded from the flight.
The balls on this guy.
It's one of my favorite scenes in The Right Stuff. If you've seen the movie you know there are two sets of "heroes", test pilots and the Mercury 7. Who were test pilots. Ok so one set of heroes with 2 different career paths.
Anyway, from that point on it was a series of one ups largely between him and Scott Crossfield, each of them competing for the title "fastest man alive".
Chuck still going strong, at 92; Andy Anderson as well, they built them tough back then. I do wonder though if they still go hunting the California Brown Trout every summer being Old Guys
