Uncle_Buck Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 (edited) Perhaps one of the most recognized of the Greatest Generation that fought and won WWII, General Chuck Yeager passed away yesterday at age 97 on December 7th - Pearl Harbor Day. 🇺🇸 Edited December 8, 2020 by Uncle_Buck (see edit history) 7 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave39MD Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 What a life he lived, a great guy. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J3Studio Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 (edited) Agreed. What an amazing life—the things he saw and did. Chuck lent his own special glamour to the C4 Corvette, which many of us in that part of the hobby greatly appreciated. Edited December 8, 2020 by J3Studio (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 He led a great life. On one site, it’s stated that his accomplishments were spectacular, but his personality was lacking. It was said he could turn on some charm when needed, but in real life he wasn’t a very nice person. Mentioned that to my wife, she said “He didn’t have to be nice, look at what he did....and the sad thing is that most of this generation wouldn’t know his name.....” 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 You can't look at a P-51 Mustang without thinking of him, a truly Great American, Thank you for your service, Rest in Peace. Bob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarNucopia Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 (edited) 20 minutes ago, trimacar said: Mentioned that to my wife, she said “He didn’t have to be nice, look at what he did....and the sad thing is that most of this generation wouldn’t know his name.....” Impressive it only took three replies to get to ”kids these days...” 😂 Edited December 8, 2020 by Car-Nicopia (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lump Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 I've read much of his life story over the years. A true hero. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobileparts Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 That is truly Amazing !!!! We should rename December 7 th -- Chuck Yeager Day..... RIP Mr. Yeager, Condolences to your loved ones (that includes all of us in this thread !!!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 7 minutes ago, Car-Nicopia said: Impressive it only took three replies to get to ”kids these days...” 😂 Every generation since the first caveman crawled out into the sun has it’s version of “kids these days”. Kids these days will be saying about their kids, “kids these days”.... Nothing wrong with that. Each generation grows up in a different world, with different opinions and values. Makes life interesting. Just think, three generations from now kids won’t even know what “petroleum” means! (that’s a tongue in cheek comment, by the way, even windmills need 60 gallons of oil each for their gearboxes, and if the British make solar panels they’ll need oil to make them somehow leak) 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarNucopia Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 9 minutes ago, trimacar said: Every generation since the first caveman crawled out into the sun has it’s version of “kids these days”. Kids these days will be saying about their kids, “kids these days”.... Nothing wrong with that. Each generation grows up in a different world, with different opinions and values. Makes life interesting. Just think, three generations from now kids won’t even know what “petroleum” means! (that’s a tongue in cheek comment, by the way, even windmills need 60 gallons of oil each for their gearboxes, and if the British make solar panels they’ll need oil to make them somehow leak) All true. I’m making fun of this because it’s so pervasive on this forum. I love prewar cars. But I spend less time here then other forums because too many threads turn into an echo chamber of this sort of thing. I can only imagine how real “kids” introduced to this group react. I suspect they leave. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 Yes, I understand. If oldsters don’t get out and see the interest of young people, then the assumption is made that kids these days don’t care about old cars. Yet, I know of an under 40 year old who just bought a Model T and is tickled with it! OK, so that’s not THAT young, but there’s interest out there. Will the hobby change? Sure, always has. Will we lose heroes specific to certain generations like Yeager? Sure. And the world keeps spinning.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave39MD Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 (edited) The company I worked for signed General Yeager as our spokes person before the book The Right Stuff came out. He was a great spokes person and when ever I saw him he was very gracious and engaging. He once told a story about getting his old Chevy truck going and he described the AC plugs as diamonds in a goats XXX. Needless to say he kept about a thousand sales people entertained for days. Dave Edited December 8, 2020 by Dave39MD (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC38dls Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 He led a special spectacular life, these no doubt about that. He supposedly had a major regret in that he wasn’t chosen for the astronaut program and wasn’t the first man in space for the USA. There are also stories he would get in a plane and ask the mechanic how to start it, knowing if he knew how to do that he would probably be the test pilot as he had an advantage over any other test pilot on the base. Quite a character. dave s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarNucopia Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 (edited) I saw this quote of his today and thought is was funny, and very insightful about an average day on the job for him. "If you can walk away from a landing, it's a good landing. If you use the airplane the next day, it's an outstanding landing." Edited December 8, 2020 by Car-Nicopia (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 (edited) 37 minutes ago, mobileparts said: That is truly Amazing !!!! We should rename December 7 th -- Chuck Yeager Day..... RIP Mr. Yeager, Condolences to your loved ones (that includes all of us in this thread !!!!) RETHINK what you posted pal, or are you clueless as to what happened at Pearl Harbor? Bob Swanson Edited December 8, 2020 by 1937hd45 (see edit history) 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 I'm from north of the 49th and December 7 is not as revered here as south of the 49th but I agree 100 percent with Bob Swanson. "A day of infamy" and a hero are not nearly the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deaddds Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 Yep, each generation has its hero’s. Yeager was of my grandparents age but even I knew about him. 40 years from now, today’s kids will be mourning their hero’s. You know, true American hero’s like the Kardashians. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pfeil Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 (edited) 4 hours ago, 1937hd45 said: You can't look at a P-51 Mustang without thinking of him, a truly Great American, Thank you for your service, Rest in Peace. Bob Or the Bell X-1. I hope he and Bob Hoover are having good times. Thanks for posting this topic Uncle Buck. Edited December 8, 2020 by Pfeil (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capngrog Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 6 hours ago, trimacar said: He led a great life. On one site, it’s stated that his accomplishments were spectacular, but his personality was lacking. It was said he could turn on some charm when needed, but in real life he wasn’t a very nice person. Mentioned that to my wife, she said “He didn’t have to be nice, look at what he did....and the sad thing is that most of this generation wouldn’t know his name.....” Other than having the typical fighter pilot personality, I've read and heard (from those who knew the man) that Chuck Yeager was one of the "Good Guys" with an engaging personality. If you're not a fighter pilot (I'm not one), the fighter pilot personality (self-assuredness, arrogance, etc.) can be a bit off-putting; however, it goes with the territory of being one of the "cream of the crop". Any good pilot, not just fighter pilots, is comfortable with his/her skill, and this sometimes comes across as just a bit arrogant. Just as an aside, the next time you watch the movie "The Right Stuff", pay attention to the scene in Pancho Barnes' Happy Bottom Riding Club. The grizzled old bar tender is Chuck Yeager in a cameo appearance. R.I.P. Chuck Yeager. Another of my boyhood heroes "gone west". Grog 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 Good to know, the perspective of a fighter pilot personality. Yes, he di amazing things that pushed us into the space age... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29hupp Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 Had the pleasure of meeting him at the Oshkosh Air Show about 20 years ago. He was definitely one of the "Good Guys). R.I.P. Chuck Yeager 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Studemax Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 Chuck was an American badass - Became an ace in one mission when he shot down 5 planes. Once said, "The first jet airplane I ever saw I shot down". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 14 hours ago, capngrog said: Other than having the typical fighter pilot personality That made me go to the window and look out at my BMW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carroll_1 Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 "There is no kind of ultimate goal to do something twice as good as anyone else can. It’s just to do the job as best you can. If it turns out good, fine. If it doesn’t, that’s the way it goes." R.I.P. Chuck Yeager 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 Anytime someone says "impossible" to me, they are usually wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 Henry Ford wanted nothing to do with the man educated to the point of knowing the limitations of his field. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pfeil Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 9 hours ago, padgett said: Anytime someone says "impossible" to me, they are usually wrong. Thanks Chuck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Locomobile Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 (edited) On 12/9/2020 at 12:07 PM, 60FlatTop said: Henry Ford wanted nothing to do with the man educated to the point of knowing the limitations of his field. 😁 Edited December 12, 2020 by Locomobile (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 53 minutes ago, Locomobile said: expressed that they would only interfere in their work. 2000 years ago there was a really important job to do. The greatest minds of mankind were available. Twelve fishermen got the job. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pfeil Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 2 hours ago, Locomobile said: James Watt and Mathew Bolton, brilliant mechanics and the fathers of "horsepower" shunned trained engineers and expressed that they would only interfere in their work. Richard Trevethick who went on in 1800 to develop high pressure steam, the first practical self propelled road vehicle in 1801, the first passenger carrying taxi in 1802 and developed the first successful rail locomotive in 1803, had no formal education at all. Deemed unteachable at age nine he left school and went to work at his fathers mine. Edison left school around the same age for the same reason. As one old blues musician put it "You either are or you ain't'' 😁 Chuck Yeager was another one. His H/S education would not allow him to be a astronaut. And if Chuck were a H/S graduate today he would never be able to fly in the military at all. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 HFAs can be brilliant (IQ often over 150) but may be essentially unteachable. One characteristic is doing things without having to ask. Think USAF was first to require officers to have degrees mainly because they could and still have enough applicants. Of course those who grandfathered in... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pfeil Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 3 hours ago, padgett said: HFAs can be brilliant (IQ often over 150) but may be essentially unteachable. One characteristic is doing things without having to ask. Think USAF was first to require officers to have degrees mainly because they could and still have enough applicants. Of course those who grandfathered in... Thank you doctor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 Sorry, had to quit the PhD finance program (aka Creative Accounting") so just More of the Same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
30DodgePanel Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 On 12/8/2020 at 10:54 AM, Car-Nicopia said: Impressive it only took three replies to get to ”kids these days...” 😂 And only five to get completely off topic... Mr. Yeager ... a driven man made for the skies. RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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