Originally Posted by
rickair7777
Yeager is a jerk.
Armstrong was supposedly a nice guy and humble, but wanted to live a quiet life, not signing autographs all the time.
I've heard differing accounts, and I'm going to largely refrain from judgment. However, if you vie to be the first man on the moon on a publicly funded mission, you can expect to have some notoriety afterward. Smiling and being pleasant is not that hard. If he wanted a "quiet life" he could have let somebody else be first, or maybe pay back the few billion spent to take him there. Refusing to sign autographs for kids or do a few charity events, even if some wind up on ebay, is pretty lame IMO.
Not saying the public "owns" him, but he should expect notoriety and be pleasant about it. Many people I know say he was just a cold a-hole if you weren't viewed as important to him or just wanted to shake his hand or get a signature. Big contrast to Buzz and Collins.
Originally Posted by
SayAlt
OK I'll try not to, Doc. I just hope you realize how much your super-baaaad Chuck Norris-like 182 skills are so terribly intimidating to naval aviators, much less any other professional pilots.
I guess I'm surprised that a real "professional aviator" would think it would be an amazing feat to land and secure a high-lift plane with a 45 kt stall speed on a 1000 foot patch, even if it is going up and down several feet at a time. Flying is more difficult for some than others. If this is "super-baaaad Chuck Norris" skills, then guilty as charged.
Good luck to you!
Originally Posted by
UAL T38 Phlyer
When Glamorous Glennis died, he remarried.
It appears Yeager is the only person who likes her.
His own kids filed a lawsuit against him, because she was blocking the estate (for herself, of course).
Different Long story short: 30 years ago, my squadron invited Yeager to be a guest speaker at a dinner.
He wanted $2000 plus transportation.
By chance, we ran into Yeager's old squadron mate Bud Anderson.
Anderson did it for the price of a steak dinner at the O-club.
I had just finished reading "The Right Stuff."
Yeager went from Hero to Zero.
That is in line with a great deal of anecdotes I've heard too.
