Chuck Yeager just got back from a safari in Namibia

That animal Chuck Yeager is still getting around good enough to hunt in Africa! I am sure he was using some Weatherby mag too. Here is the story I got from a Namibian news website:


Legendary Chuck Yeager on Namibian safari
by Jana-Mari Smith

BRIGADIER General Chuck Yeager, the first pilot ever to fly faster than the speed of sound, is on a hunting safari in Namibia.

Yesterday, a Hunter’s Namibia Safaris spokesperson confirmed that Yeager has been in Namibia for the past nine days, enjoying a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.

Yeager will host an informal get-together at the Klein Windhoek Guesthouse at 18h00 Windhoek tonight, giving admirers a chance to meet the legendary pilot. At 24 years of age, Yeager achieved worldwide fame when he was the first pilot to break the sound barrier in 1947.

The much-admired pilot, who according to reports is “unquestionably the most famous test pilot of all time” arrived in Namibia on October 1. He returns to the United States tomorrow.

Yeager’s most famous achievement took place on October 14 1947.

Only days after he is said to have cracked several ribs during a horseback riding accident, Yeager was chosen to test the rocket-powered X-1 plane.

At the time, “no one knew if a fixed-wing aircraft could fly faster than sound, or if a human pilot could survive the experience” a report on Yeager states.

Nevertheless, Yeager bravely agreed to do the flight and was written into the history books when he broke the sound barrier.
Yeager went on to accomplish more feats in his career, one of which includes a flight in 1952 where he managed to set a new air speed record of 2 656 kilometres per hour.

Yeager occupied a prominent position during the space race from 1956 onwards, when he commanded the Air Force Aerospace Research Pilots School, a training ground for potential pilots for the space programme.

Yeager came close to death on numerous occasions during his eventful career. It is reported that in 1963, during a flight on the experimental Lockheed Starfighter, during which Yeager reached speeds more than twice the speed of sound, the engine shut off and Yeager was forced to eject from the aircraft. During his escape, Yeager’s compression suit was set on fire. He survived but required extensive skin grafts for his burns.

A significant cap in his feather, is his Second World War experiences.

Yeager was shot down in 1943 over enemy territory in France. With the help of the French resistance, Yeager escaped across the Pyrenees to neutral Spain.

He rejoined the war effort and managed to complete 64 combat missions during the rest of the war.


Source: the Namibian