Chuck Yeager, still flying high

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He broke the sound barrier, battled Germans and has been honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom and a special peacetime Congressional Silver Medal of Honor. At 86, Chuck Yeager (www.chuckyeager.com), retired major general in the Air Force, continues to fly and make personal appearances. Born in the poverty-stricken backwoods of West Virginia, Yeager's life inspired Tom Wolfe's book and the 1983 movie "The Right Stuff."
Excerpts from an interview:
Q: What did you think of US Airways Capt. (Chelsey B.) Sullenberger's emergency landing in the Hudson River?
A: He only had one thing to do and he did it. The main thing is he had a smooth body of water. Had he been in the ocean, he would have lost his airplane and the people. But the Hudson River was smooth and there were also a couple of barges there that suspended the airplane. Since he was very light on fuel, the airplane floated for quite some time. You know, the guy did a beautiful job, but you've got to face the fact he had no other choice.
Q: Do you think coming from modest beginnings helped fuel your ambition?
A: I wasn't that way, you know. No, I never saw an airplane on the ground until I was 18 years old and enlisted in the Army Air Corps. So they didn't mean anything to me. Also, I was a very gifted mechanic and worked on airplanes. When I got in the military it looked like a pretty interesting occupation to get into so I applied for pilot training under the Flying Sergeant Program. I wasn't a cadet because I didn't have the two years of college and was 20 years old, so I went to flying school as an enlisted man.
Q: You were a gifted athlete, too.
A: Yeah, I was just at the right place at the right time and had the capability of taking advantage of the opportunities when they presented themselves.
Q: You had 20/10 eyesight. How is it today?
A: I had exceptional eyesight, and it pays off, especially in combat. I could see planes coming half-again farther than the other pilots in the squadron. I still have 20/15 in each eye and I'm 86. I'm lucky.
Q: Did you have to learn to control your fear or were you naturally a fearless person?
A: No, I wasn't a fearless person. You know, like I say, you have to take advantage of every opportunity you have. I was a very lucky individual.
Q: After you were shot down and helping the French resistance and working your way back, is it true that ...
A: The French resistance took care of me for a couple of months. In fact, there were some 1,600 American airmen interned in Spain because Spain was a neutral country. Everyone of those airmen were helped through the Pyrenees mountains by the French people. I owe my life to them. Many other airmen owe their lives to the French people. They suffered and a lot of them were killed by the Germans, but they were very dedicated people. It's too bad people think the French weren't very nice, because, man, you couldn't ask for a nicer people.
Q: ... is it true that you were worried about some money you had won in a poker game?
A: I never gambled except for one night, and it was the night before I got shot down. You know, you just put your ID card and your possessions in a bag and give it to the intelligence officer (before you left on a combat mission), and I didn't figure it (the money) would be there when I got back, but it was.
Q: You've said in other interviews that you believe luck plays a role in the outcome of things -- what about God? Do you believe?
A: You know and I probably shouldn't say it, I don't believe in anything that doesn't have scientific evidence to back it up. Now you can make anything you can out of that. Religion was a way of life (growing up) and I had to go to Sunday school on Sunday and a prayer meeting on Wednesday, and I was baptized, but that doesn't mean that I believe there's a life everlasting, ever after.
Q: Physically, what did it feel like to break the sound barrier?
A: There is no sound. You are in a pressurized airplane. The only effects approaching Mach 1 is buffeting like (you're) driving a car on a rough road.
Q: Are you still flying?
A: Yes, I fly light stuff. A couple of years ago I quit flying F-16s and wound up 65 years in Air Force cockpits. Today I fly Huskies and other light planes. Oh, and also I was over in France last December flying the Airbus A380. I still get in a lot of airplanes. I was impressed. You know, it's like flying a hotel with wings. It was really interesting. It's a really wonderful airplane to fly.

(E-mail Patricia Sheridan at psheridan(at)post-gazette.com.)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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