Chuck Yeager Feb 12, 1923- Dec 7th 2020

[Nicholas Kennedy]

https://www.davisstraub.com/OZ/24.242.0

The above was during the Telluride Hang Gliding Festival.
Mr Yeagers son Dan lived in nearby Norwood Colorado and was here for a visit and was invited to go Hang Gliding Tandem and He did. Had a good thermal flight by accounts.
Nick
T

[Nicholas Kennedy]

On Saturday, December 12, 2020 at 10:14:36 AM UTC-7, Nicholas Kennedy wrote:
> https://www.davisstraub.com/OZ/24.242.0
>
> The above was during the Telluride Hang Gliding Festival.
> Mr Yeagers son Dan lived in nearby Norwood Colorado and was here for a visit and was invited to go Hang Gliding Tandem and He did. Had a good thermal flight by accounts.
> Nick
> T

Peter Kellys account:
https://www.davisstraub.com/OZ/24.243.0

[Mark Mocho]

OK, so here I am on by birthday (9/8/1980), sitting at the Floradora Bar in Telluride having a celebratory beer. Two guys walk in and sit down at the bar next to me. I notice that one of them is wearing a hat with a Christen Eagle patch. Well, I know that a Christen Eagle is a pretty decent aerobatic biplane, so I ask about it. The guy says he was just up at the factory test flying one. i thought that was cool, so I offered to buy them a beer. They declined, and as I was just finishing my first, they bought me one instead. And then we introduced ourselves. I just got a birthday beer from General Chuck Yeager and his son Don. Pretty cool!. We got to talking about flying and I said I was in Telluride for the hang gliding festival. Chuck (my new best buddy) said he was looking forward to watching us fly, and was curious how he could get a ride to launch. As a highly skilled hang driver hunter, I immediately offered him a ride, if he would agree to drive my Jeep Wagoneer down and meet us at the LZ. He eagerly agreed, as he loved four-wheeling.

The next day, as pilots met in the Town Park to load the trucks for the caravan to launch, my buddies Jim Lee, J.C. Brown and Larry Tudor loaded our gliders on my Jeep. Jim or J.C. asked if I had found a driver. I said, "Yeah.. Here he comes now." And Chuck Yeager walks up with a case of Coors Light. "Where you want me to put this?" he asked. I pulled out the cooler and introductions were made as we dumped the "Silver Bullets" into the ice. Jim, J..C. and Larry were dumbfounded.

And for the rest of the weeklong Hang Gliding Festival, Chuck Yeager met us every morning for the ride up to 12,200 ft. Gold Hill, telling us stories about his days at Edwards AFB, test flying, fighter operations and hunting. We would set up our gliders, launch and fly in the afternoon, land and Chuck would meet us with beer in the LZ. One day, however, I had to act as driver because Chuck took a tandem flight with "Captain Jack" Carey. He thoroughly enjoyed it and presented Captain Jack with his WWII flying goggles. During the week, he gave an great talk at the Elks' Club, and showed dramatic film of his nearly fatal tumble at Mach 2.64 in the Bell X-1A. (As a footnote, we had anothe guest speaker that week- Dr. Paul MacCready.)

I got to have dinner with him and his wife Glennis one night, and it was an honor and a great pleasure to enjoy their company. We exchanged Christmas and birthday cards for several years after that. I also met him again in Albuquerque at the top of the Sandia Peak Tramway. He was having dinner with some friends and saw me at the bar and sat down to say hello. I was amazed he remembered me, and even more amazed when he also recognized J.C. Brown who was bartending at the High Finance Restaurant that night.

Great memories of a great man!

[Bob Caldwell (BC)]

On Saturday, December 12, 2020 at 12:15:54 PM UTC-7, Mark Mocho wrote:
> OK, so here I am on by birthday (9/8/1980), sitting at the Floradora Bar in Telluride having a celebratory beer. Two guys walk in and sit down at the bar next to me. I notice that one of them is wearing a hat with a Christen Eagle patch. Well, I know that a Christen Eagle is a pretty decent aerobatic biplane, so I ask about it. The guy says he was just up at the factory test flying one. i thought that was cool, so I offered to buy them a beer. They declined, and as I was just finishing my first, they bought me one instead. And then we introduced ourselves. I just got a birthday beer from General Chuck Yeager and his son Don. Pretty cool!. We got to talking about flying and I said I was in Telluride for the hang gliding festival. Chuck (my new best buddy) said he was looking forward to watching us fly, and was curious how he could get a ride to launch. As a highly skilled hang driver hunter, I immediately offered him a ride, if he would agree to drive my Jeep Wagoneer down and meet us at the LZ. He eagerly agreed, as he loved four-wheeling.
>
> The next day, as pilots met in the Town Park to load the trucks for the caravan to launch, my buddies Jim Lee, J.C. Brown and Larry Tudor loaded our gliders on my Jeep. Jim or J.C. asked if I had found a driver. I said, "Yeah. Here he comes now." And Chuck Yeager walks up with a case of Coors Light. "Where you want me to put this?" he asked. I pulled out the cooler and introductions were made as we dumped the "Silver Bullets" into the ice. Jim, J.C. and Larry were dumbfounded.
>
> And for the rest of the weeklong Hang Gliding Festival, Chuck Yeager met us every morning for the ride up to 12,200 ft. Gold Hill, telling us stories about his days at Edwards AFB, test flying, fighter operations and hunting. We would set up our gliders, launch and fly in the afternoon, land and Chuck would meet us with beer in the LZ. One day, however, I had to act as driver because Chuck took a tandem flight with "Captain Jack" Carey. He thoroughly enjoyed it and presented Captain Jack with his WWII flying goggles. During the week, he gave an great talk at the Elks' Club, and showed dramatic film of his nearly fatal tumble at Mach 2.64 in the Bell X-1A. (As a footnote, we had anothe guest speaker that week- Dr. Paul MacCready.)
>
> I got to have dinner with him and his wife Glennis one night, and it was an honor and a great pleasure to enjoy their company. We exchanged Christmas and birthday cards for several years after that. I also met him again in Albuquerque at the top of the Sandia Peak Tramway. He was having dinner with some friends and saw me at the bar and sat down to say hello. I was amazed he remembered me, and even more amazed when he also recognized J.C. Brown who was bartending at the High Finance Restaurant that night.
>
> Great memories of a great man!

Wow! Great memories. Telluride was a magical place for hang glider pilots in those days. Spectacular soaring over probably the most scenic place on earth. I was camping in the Town Park and right next to my campsite was a funky pickup truck camper with Chuck and Glennis. They were great people to sit around the campfire with. Mark's mention of the presentations that year at the Elk's Club made me remember one of Chuck's many pieces of wisdom. "You don't have to try to become a hot pilot, you just have to outlive the hot pilots." BC

[Steve Koerner]

Here's an interview he gave on fighter planes and his own fighter pilot days.

A hot pilot for sure...

https://youtu.be/Yh_mKBVzpA8