Yeah, I too found it a little strange to criticize him for that.
Chuck Yeager - Lawsuit Crazy?
- Thread starter josephbelt01
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Yeah, I too found it a little strange to criticize him for that.
B350ATP
Pre-takeoff checklist
My statements were regarding the fact that had he been honest about his age, the opportunities would have gone to someone else, aka "Pilot Jim Morgan" who would have had broken the sound barrier, written a biography, etc etc.
Yeager would lead you to believe that he, and only he, was capable of such feats. This is not true.
Regarding Hoover and his eye test, I don't know about that story but Hoover was much less a "cowboy" and "show boat" than Yeager and was (is) a big proponent of General Aviation.
I never saw Yeager do anything for general aviation. I did see him write a bestseller (his picture was on the cover, in his flight suit), I did see him as a commercial sponsor for AC Delco, and I did see him continue to fly military aircraft (anything with an "F" in front of it) as long as he could. I did see him either directly or indirectly remind the world how he was such a good pilot.
I never saw him at an airshow doing stunts or actually showing anyone his flying ability. (Hoover did). I never saw him advocate for General Aviation. Heck, I don't recall ever seeing Yeager in a general aviation cockpit by himself.
Yeager told us he was a good pilot. Hoover showed us.
You can form your own conclusions.
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denverpilot
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I'd buy Harrison Ford lunch. I wouldn't buy Yeager lunch.
Florida Cracker
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I'd buy them both lunch, AND Buzz Aldren, and be proud to have done it.
There is always going to be subset of folks that tear down those who did things, because they have never done any of those things, themselves.
Kristin
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The shame of it isn't so much that the doxie is vacuuming up the money, but that by manipulation, she separates the children from their father in his last years. Money can be replaced, those years are lost forever.
denverpilot
Tied Down
Meh. Last time I checked the government wasn't offering me any chances to fly rocket planes on someone else's dime.
I didn't say he didn't do good things for military aviation that trickled down into civilian aviation. I said he doesn't need me to buy him lunch.
Technically Ford doesn't either, but he's out every year trying to help GA grow. Yeager, he's a test pilot. If I wanted to buy a test pilot lunch, I'd find a broke one at Pax River.
Granted, both are better "heros" to false-worship than anyone in Hollywood, which is much more common for most kids.
B350ATP
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Guess who is who. If you can't tell by the plane, check the pose. Both shots involve a person and an airplane. The similarities stop there tho.
One is waving to others, one is posing for the camera.
nddons
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I don't have a dog in the fight, but this is crazy.
Yeager was a fighter pilot, and a test pilot. That's what he should be judged by.
Your first statement is ridiculous. If he didn't lie, he would have given someone else a chance to get killed in the highly dangerous world of being a WWII fighter pilot. Only by living through the war, and being an extraordinary fighter pilot did he get a shot at getting himself killed as a test pilot.
That's how he should be judged by history. If he's a dick to people, then he's a dick to people. That's a separate issue.
MooneyDriver78
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IIRC, it wasn't his stick and rudder skills that made him so valuable as a pilot, it was his eyesight, his vision was eagle like and he was able to spot planes before they spotted him. Huge advantage in WWII.
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Mantis Toboggan, MD
Hehe...I've flown one of those airplanes and met the person pictured with it as I was prepping for the flight (I did not fly with the person pictured). Some of you have heard the story, others likely will not unless we meet face-to-face.
Nauga,
who knows better than to **** off a rigger
Snaproll
Filing Flight Plan
I met Chuck in the past and always considered him a bit of an a-hole. Currently, everything is about money.. Several years ago, I contacted his office about a letter for my oldest grandson for his Eagle Scout Court of Honor. The reply was sure - just send $150.00. I said screw that and obtained letters from people I respected.
el con
Line Up and Wait
I agree with the above, doing great things for the Country does not always mean the person is great. Both Hoover and Yeager did heroic things in WWII, both were great pilots, after these things were recognized they took different paths. Reminds me of something I heard about our Country's Presidents, after surveying all info it came down to Jimmy Carter was probably the nicest guy, most honest but got the least amount done and probably the worst President.
( Carter may lose that title after our current Presidents term has finished)
Bob Hoover is the man for all times.
Yeager ,early great, later not so great.
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Reminds me of something I heard about our Country's Presidents, after surveying all info it came down to Jimmy Carter was probably the nicest guy, most honest but got the least amount done and probably the worst President.
( Carter may lose that title after our current Presidents term has finished)
Bush II was worse than Carter in some ways, and better in others. At least Carter didn't start a war with the wrong enemy. Obama is far better than either, if you judge by the results instead of by the letter after his name.
el con
Line Up and Wait
t'was not me doing the ratings
What was ironic was the worse the person was the more they got done.
Sad
Fearless Tower
Touchdown! Greaser!
I think a big part of the problem many have with Yeager is they want to see the guy as they came to know him through Tom Wolfe and Hollywood.
That man doesn't exist, and the harsh reality throws people off.
Let's face it, not everyone is a nice guy. Whether a pilot or not. Not everyone can be like Bob Hoover, Jimmy Doolittle or Jimmy Stewart.
Yeager certainly had accomplishments, but accomplishments don't always improve the character behind them.
My only personal beef with CY was that I thought his comments as a public figure in the wake of the Crossfield accident to be completely unnecessary and inappropriate and he pretty much came across like a full-of-himself, first class a-hole.
That man doesn't exist, and the harsh reality throws people off.
Let's face it, not everyone is a nice guy. Whether a pilot or not. Not everyone can be like Bob Hoover, Jimmy Doolittle or Jimmy Stewart.
Yeager certainly had accomplishments, but accomplishments don't always improve the character behind them.
My only personal beef with CY was that I thought his comments as a public figure in the wake of the Crossfield accident to be completely unnecessary and inappropriate and he pretty much came across like a full-of-himself, first class a-hole.
That's the going price on eBay probably. He is far from the only celebrity to charge for autographs. I deal with them on a regular basis and I never even ask, I don't even treat them as celebrities, I just talk to them like any other guest onboard.
The rules in this business are interesting. Most of the time no pictures, autographs, anything li that, "yacht time" is like time on a different planet. It's actually kind of fun with some of them. You get the whole gambit of people, some are completely conceited and self important, and some just figure they are the luckiest people alive and are super nice. The real funny thing is I read off the conceited ones and put them down when they are *******s or abusive to the crew. One guy who was rather famous for this behavior in the industry (and is listed a banned guest on half the charter boat contracts on the planet) I came across as he was berating a stew who was just doing her job. I berated him six ways from Sunday. Everybody figured we lost our tip, but it was worth it. We ended up with double the standard tip, and he was nice for the last 4 days, even shook my hand leaving.
txflyer
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Fly it like you STOL it ♦
I met A.J. Foyt having a burger last week.
He's a class act. Very nice guy.
We talked and talked. I showed him pictures of my Mopar, we got along like two old country boys.
He's a class act. Very nice guy.
We talked and talked. I showed him pictures of my Mopar, we got along like two old country boys.
kgruber
Final Approach
The worst is Paul Allen.
If you go to work for him you have to sign a contract to where you will NOT LOOK at him or his family.
If you go to work for him you have to sign a contract to where you will NOT LOOK at him or his family.
Zeldman
Touchdown! Greaser!
Guess who is who. If you can't tell by the plane, check the pose. Both shots involve a person and an airplane. The similarities stop there tho.
One is waving to others, one is posing for the camera.
I see one person waving to the applauding crowd after an air show flight, and the other is posing for an AF publicity picture.
B350ATP
Pre-takeoff checklist
Thank you, exactly.
When you can find one of Yeager doing airshows, instead of book covers and TV ads, let me know.
Also: http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/military/read.main/88305/
..
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N747JB
Final Approach
OK, so far I've learned Bob Hoover is a nice guy and Chuck Yeager is not. Only took 3 pages. Both are very accomplished aviators, being good at something whether it's aviation, medicine, or building computer companies, doesn't mean you are warm and fuzzy.
I've never met either of them, but when I've met "celebrities" most of them have been decent people, a lot of them aren't comfortable in public and especially don't like being bothered when they are on their own private time and I can't blame them.
Both are very accomplished aviators, being good at something whether it's aviation, medicine, or building computer companies, doesn't mean you are warm and fuzzy. I've never met either of them, but when I've met "celebrities" most of them have been decent people, a lot of them aren't comfortable in public and especially don't like being bothered when they are on their own private time and I can't blame them.
Fearless Tower
Touchdown! Greaser!
Ah, but there's the rub. Does the celebrity want to collect on their status or be left alone? You can't have both.
denverpilot
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James_Dean
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Anthony
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I never heard this? Do you have a link? Just curious, as I guess there was some rivalry between them.
Fearless Tower
Touchdown! Greaser!
No, it was a long time ago. May have been on the news. Basically some news dude asked CY for comments after the accident and before the details had been released. CY pretty much said he wasn't surprised and implied that Crossfield bent rules and was an accident waiting to happen.
Regardless of what Crossfield did or the details, it seemed like an unnecessary and rather unprofessional comment from a public figure. And if you had read his autobiography, for him to make those comments about Crossfield was pretty much the pot calling the kettle black.
B350ATP
Pre-takeoff checklist
Did you watch the video ? Per his own statements on the video, this is already a high performing airplane and he is on minimal fuel, just enought to return after the flight. He also, on the video, says "no matter who flies it" it will set a climb record this way. His copilot is Dan Davenport, likely a Piper company demo pilot to keep Yeager out of trouble.
In another feat of airmanship in the same model airplane, Chuck Yeager departs west coast in the winter at night to avoid air traffic conflicts and flies an already fast airplane straight and level to the east coast, pushed by winter tailwinds
http://news.google.com/newspapers?n...0JGAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_OcMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3995,1729543
clearly this is major major pilot skills, only a test pilot like him could do these feats
Both above major feats of skill are obviously very close to what Hoover can do with an airplane.
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James_Dean
Pattern Altitude
I have no dog in the hunt. I was just pointing out that he did, in fact, advocate as a paid spokesman for a GA company by flying a GA plane for some record attempts.
I think it's hilarious to see people digging on Yeager like he owes GA or anybody anything. That is likely why he is an ******* in so many people's opinion.
Zeldman
Touchdown! Greaser!
Jimmy cooper
En-Route
It's all that combined with lots of immaturity. Both Yeager and Hoover are ledgends and both are show boaters. Why not? They paid their dues! Both have contributed a great deal to general aviation and to the country and deserve the utmost respect. They are also big big buddy's since their early days as newly graduated cadets. To say that Yeager needed a Piper demo pilot to assist him is just total immaturity along with the other negative comments from the peanut gallery.
FastEddieB
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Jimmy,
I am SO glad you give credit to fighter pilots who have paid their dues!
I am SO glad you give credit to fighter pilots who have paid their dues!