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Posted on 08/27/2003 12:00:44 AM PDT by SAMWolf
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans.
Where the Freeper Foxhole introduces a different veteran each Wednesday. The "ordinary" Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine who participated in the events in our Country's history. We hope to present events as seen through their eyes. To give you a glimpse into the life of those who sacrificed for all of us - Our Veterans.
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World War 2 Ace, shot down 11 German planes, including 2 Me-262 jets Chuck Yeager's accomplishments as an ace in WWII have been overshadowed by his achievements as a test pilot, but his fighter pilot experiences were remarkable on their own. An eighteen-year old West Virgina country boy, he joined the U.S. Army Air Force in 1941 and shot down eleven (and a half!) German planes, including two Me-262 jets.  He was also shot down over France, evaded, joined the Maquis, and made his way back to England via Spain. Somehow he persuaded the brass to let him continue flying fighter missions in Europe, contrary to policy. All of this by the age of twenty-two. Born in 1923, son of Albert Hal Yeager (a staunch Republican, so firm in his party loyalties that he once refused to shake President Harry Truman's hand), Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager grew up in Myra, on the Mud River in West Virgina. His dirt-poor youth was filled with hillbilly themes that sound romantic today, but probably weren't much fun at the time: making moonshine, eating cornmeal mush three times a day, shooting squirels for dinner, chasing rats out of the kitchen, going barefoot all summer, butchering hogs, and stealing watermelons. At an early age Chuck could do well at anything requiring manual dexterity or math: ping-pong, shooting, auto mechanics.  Flight Officer Yeager’s P-39 over the Tonapah Bombing and Gunnery Range in April 1943 He enlisted in the Army Air Corps when he graduated from Hamlin High School in 1941, and became an airplane mechanic. He hated flying, after throwing up his first time in the air. But when the chance came to become a "Flying Sergeant," with three stripes and no K.P., he applied, and was accepted. His good cordination, mechanical abilities, and excellent memory enabled him to impress his instructors in flight training.  Assigned to the 363rd Fighter Squadron, of the 357th Fighter Group, he moved up to P-39s with the squadron at Tonopah, Nevada. Unlike many other pilots, he always liked the P-39 (which probably would have been a decent airplane if it had had a turbocharger). Here at Tonopah, he first developed the fighter pilot's detached attitude toward death, even getting angry at those he thought had died needlessly or through lack of skill. During the ruthless weeding-out process at Tonopah, the pilots worked as hard at playing as they did at flying. They frequented the bars and cathouses of Tonopah and nearby Mina, until the sheriff ran them out of the latter establishment. He and his lifelong friend, Bud Anderson, both made it through the process.  A trio of 363rd aces: Maj. C.E. "Bud" Anderson (16.25 victories) and Captains Don Bochkay (13.75 victories) and Chuck Yeager (12.5 victories) at Leiston, England, January 1945. When the squadron went to California to train for escort missions, Yeager drew temporary duty at Wright Field, Ohio, testing new props for the P-39 and also getting a chance to fly the big new P-47s. He took the opportunity to buzz his hometown, less than an hour's flying time away. As Hamlin's only fighter pilot, they knew who it was. He rejoined the squadron out in California, where he met his future wife Glennis, "pretty as a movie star and making more money than I was."  Capt. Chuck Yeager in the cockpit of his P-51D Mustang, late 1944 Next the squadron moved to Casper, Wyoming for more training. It was also great hunting; one time Chuck went up in his P-39 and carefully herded a dozen antelope toward a pre-arranged spot, where his armed ground confederates had a field day. They ate antelope roasts for a month. But he almost "bought the farm" in Wyoming. On October, 23, 1943, during a high speed exercise, his P-39's engine blew up, the plane burst into flames, and Yeager had to bail out. He survived, but was hospitalized with a fractured spine.  P-51 Mustangs of the 363rd Fighter Squadron., 357th FG, piloted by Bud Anderson, Bill Overstreet and Chuck Yeager, in combat with Me109s of JG-3 over Germany. The 357th FG shipped out for Europe in winter of 1943-44, and began operations in February, 1944, the first P-51 equipped unit in the Eighth Air Force. Yeager shot down his first Messerschmitt on his seventh mission (one of the early Mustang missions over Berlin), and the next day, March 5, three FW-190s caught him and shot him down. He bailed out over occupied France, being careful to delay pulling his ripcord until he had fallen far enough to avoid getting strafed by the German fighters.  He had landed about 50 miles east of Bordeaux, injured and bleeding, but armed with a forty-five caliber pistol and determined to make his way over the Pyrenees to Spain. He hid in the woods the first night, ate a stale chocolate bar from his survival kit and huddled under this parachute. The next morning he encountered a French woodcutter. They couldn't communicate very well, but the woodcutter whispered "Boche" and gestured for Yeger to stay put. Uncertain as to the Frenchman's loyalties, but having no better choices, Yeager stayed, but trained his gun on the path when a he heard a couple people returning that night. "American, a friend is here come out."  His new friends led him to a barn where he hid, while the Germans searched for him. An English-speaking woman questioned him, and satisfied that he was not a German 'plant', the local resistance people help him, starting with a local doctor who removed the shrapnel from his leg. They took him to the nearest maquis group, to hide out with them, until the snow had melted enough to permit passage over the Pyrenees. The Maquis group, about 25 men, constantly kept on the move, always being hunted by German Fieseler Storch observation planes. Yeager was an outsider with the Maquis, and sometimes relations were strained, but they accepted him when he was able to help fuse plastic explosives. After exciting and freezing adventures, he made it over the mountains into Spain. On March 30, 1944, he sat in the American consul's office. After he languished in a Spanish hotel for six weeks, the U.S. government negotiated a deal with the Franco government - a straight swap of six evadees for an amount of Texaco gasoline. The other 357th pilots were shocked when Yeager appeared; he was the first downed pilot to have returned.  Yeager, shortly after he returned to combat in August 1944, climbing into the cockpit of his second Mustang, a P-51C he named "Glamorous Glenn II." Well-considered rules forbade the return of evaded pilots to combat; if they were shot down a second time, they would be liable to reveal information about the Resistance network to the German interrogators. But Chuck Yeager would have none of it; he was determined to return to combat. The evadee rule was strict,but Yeager and a bomber pilot named Fred Glover appealed all the way to General Eisenhower, who promised to "do what he could." While the decision was pending, the Group let Yeager fly training missions. Once they were called to cover a downed pilot in the Channel, a Ju-88 appeared and Yeager couldn't restrain himself from going after it, shooting it down at the German coast. He gave the gun camera footage and the credit to another pilot, but still caught Hell. Ike decided to allow Yeager to return to combat in the summer of 1944, which he did with a vengence, now flying a P-51D nicknamed Glamorous Glen, gaudily decorated in the red-and-yellow trim of the 357th. At first, the pickings were slim, as the German fliers seemed to be laying low. He flew in a four plane division with Bud Anderson and Don Bochkay, two other double aces. On September 18, he flew in support of the Market Garden glider drops over Arnhem, but couldn't do much to stop the appalling slaughter of the C-47s. By this time, he had been promoted to Lieutenant, a commissioned officer. Yeager became an 'ace-in-a-day' on October 12, leading a bomber escort over Bremen. As he closed in on one Bf-109, the pilot broke left and collided with his wingman; both bailed out, giving Yeager credit for two victories without firing a shot. In a sharp dogfight, Yeager's vision, flying skills, and gunnery gave him three more quick kills.  Chuck Yeager makes a low pass over his first Me262 jet fighter 'kill' The German Me-262 jets appeared in combat in late 1944, but went right after the bombers, avoiding dogfights with the Mustangs. Whenever they wanted, they could just open it up, and pull away from the P-51s with a 150 MPH speed advantage. One day Yeager caught one on its approach to an airstrip. Flying through dense flak, he downed the jet, and earned a DFC for the feat.  The Last Mission depicts Chuck Yeager's and Bud Anderson's last mission of World War II, in which they soared through the Alps and did a little sight seeing before turning their P-51 Mustangs toward home. He flew his last "combat" mission in January, 14 1945. He and Bud Anderson cooked up a scheme to sign on for the day's missions as "spares," and then do some uninhibited flying. Anderson describes this, and other events in his life-long friendship with Yeager, in his autobiography, To Fly and Fight: We hit the Dutch coast, took a right and flew south, 500 across France into Switzerland. Chuck was the guide. And I was the tourist. We dropped our tanks on Mount Blanc and strafed them, trying to set them afire (it seemed like a good idea at the time), then found Lake Annecy, and the lakeshore hotel where Yeager and DePaolo had met. We buzzed the hotel, fast enough and low enough to tug at the shingles, and then we zoomed over the water, right on the deck, our props throwing up mist.  Yeager and his ground crew in front of his P-51D, "Glamorous Glen III." We'd just shot up a mountain in a neutral country, buzzed half of Europe, and probably could have been court-martialed on any one of a half-dozen charges. It didn't matter. We were aglow. It was over, we had survived, we were finished, and now we would go home together. When we landed at Leiston, my crew chief jumped on my wing, "Group got more than 50 today. Must've been something. How many did you get?" "None," I confessed in a small, strangled voice. I felt sick.  Yeager and his "Glamorous Glennis" were married on 26 February 1945 Chuck and Glennis were married in February, and he reported to Wright Field in July, the start of his even more extraordinary career as a test pilot. He impressed his instructors so much, that despite his non-com background and his West Virginia accent, he was assigned to the XS-1 project at Muroc Field in California.
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Marines Remembered
 An unidentified woman wipes away tears Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2003, at Camp Lejeune, N.C., during a memorial service for the 26 Marines from the 2nd Marine Division that have been killed during the fighting in Iraq  An unidentified woman, left, wipes away tears Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2003, at Camp Lejeune, N.C., as she stands in front of a helmet sitting on a rifle after a memorial service for the 26 Marines from the 2nd Marine Division that have been killed during the fighting in Iraq  Unidentified Marines and family members confort each other, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2003, at Camp Lejeune, N.C., after a memorial service for the 26 Marines from the 2nd Marine Division that have been killed during the fighting in Iraq  Marines flank 26 helmets and rifles, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2003, at Camp Lejeune, N.C., during a memorial service for the 26 Marines from the 2nd Marine Division that have been killed during the fighting in Iraq  A Marine firing detail renders honors, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2003, at Camp Lejeune, N.C., during a memorial service for the 26 Marines from the 2nd Marine Division that have been killed during the fighting in Iraq  Marine bagpipe players salute their fallen brothers, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2003, at Camp Lejeune, N.C., during a memorial service for the 26 Marines from the 2nd Marine Division that were killed during the fighting in Iraq  Marines and family menbers stand at attention as they look at 26 helmets, rifles and boots, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2003, at Camp Lejeune, N.C., during a memorial service for the 26 Marines from the 2nd Marine Division that have been killed during the fighting in Iraq
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Watched a biography on Burt Rutan..a good portion was on his days as a test pilot at Edwards.
Burt had some rather scathing remarks to make about NASA..go figure : )
Burt conveyed plainly that the airforce does not test like they used to..or try designs..like they were in the 50's and 60's.
He said they were pulling 9 G's in the early 60's..and commented.that if the test pilots of his day saw and flew the new Joint Strike Fighter..they would laugh and say you haven't achieved anything in 40 yrs.
I guess from Burts point of view..nothing spectacular has appeared since SR-71...he feels vision for flight has dropped by the wayside.
To some degree I believe he is correct as the A-12 was blistering the skies in 1962..with sister SR-71 soon to follow. Maybe Burt is right..and vision has fallen by the wayside.
We were discussing new options for shuttles on some threads here at FR.
I found a web site that discussed Magnetic rail launch..and application of the Linear Areo spike..which NASA/Darpa have been trying on SR-71...[Some great pics on NASA's site of Linear Areospike SR-71'S.
Magnetic rail launch Ion Drive [Plasma drive] for space
Magnetic levitation tracks may someday replace the traditional vertical launch pad
A full-scale track proposed by Marshall to be built and operated at Kennedy Space Center would be about 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) long. It would accelerate a spacecraft to about 2 Gs for 9.3 seconds and reach speeds of 400 to 600 m.p.h. (640 to 960 kilometers per hour). Researchers at Marshall are already testing 50-foot (15-meter) and 400-foot (120-meter) tracks at the center.
Plasma drive allready exists
Boeing builds Zenon [gas] Ion thrusters currently used on satillites. Pulsed Plasma drive is another configuration.
Aero spike mated to magnetic rail launch...not to farfetched...lets hope vision returns to Americas space and military admins.
The XRS-2200 Linear Aerospike Engine is being produced for use on the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works' X-33 Vehicle. The Aerospike allows development of the most traceable X-33. Flight operation, flight control, and installed engine performance are fully representative of the Reusable Launch Vehicle. The engine structure is integral to the vehicle, demonstrating installed weight benefits. Over $500 million have been invested to date in aerospike engines, and previous full-size versions of the engines have accumulated 73 tests and over 4,000 seconds of operation.
Maglev On a New Track
December 18, 2002
NASA's new maglev track
A second magnetic levitation track is up and running at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. This continuation of NASA's research in magnetic levitation, called maglev, could give launch vehicles a "running start" to break free from Earth's gravity.
A maglev system uses magnetic fields to levitate and accelerate a vehicle along a track. Similar systems are in use today on high-speed trains and some of the newer, radical-ride roller coasters. Maglev systems use high-strength electromagnets to lift a vehicle a few inches above a track and then propel it forward with high acceleration.
Once up to speed, as much as 600 mph, the vehicle would then switch to rocket engines. separate from the maglev carrier, and propel itself into space. This would dramatically reduce the cost of getting to space because the carrier and electrical power used for maglev are inexpensive and stay on the ground, unlike rocket fuel which adds weight and cost to a launch vehicle.
Installed in a high-bay building, the new experimental track is 44 feet long. It can accelerate a 10-pound carrier to 57 mph at its peak, traveling 22 feet in 1/4 second. This is the equivalent of 10 times the acceleration of gravity. At the end of the 22 foot acceleration, the power is turned off and the carrier slows to a stop through passive breaking.
The acceleration is done using a linear synchronous motor. This means that the copper coils along the track are synchronized so each is turned on just before the carrier comes in contact with them, and off as soon as the carrier passes. The coils are electromagnets, and attract the permanent magnets on the sides of the carrier. This makes the carrier move forward. Sensors on the side of the track determine the carrier’s position so the correct drive coils are turned on or off.
NASA's 50' outdoor track
Engineers are conducting tests on both the indoor track and a 50-foot outdoor maglev track installed at Marshall last September. The testing will help engineers understand maglev vehicle dynamics, the interface between a carrier and its launch vehicle, and how to separate the vehicle from the carrier for launch.
The Advanced Space Transportation Program at Marshall Space Flight Center is conducting the tests on the track designed and built by Foster-Miller Inc. of Waltham, Massachusetts. The earlier, outdoor track was built by NASA and industry partner PRT Advanced Maglev Systems Inc. of Park Forest, Illinois.
How Maglev works
Maglev uses the simple technology of magnets to levitate the vehicle so it is not touching anything. Magnets have two poles: one north and the other south. Different poles attract each other while similar poles repel each other. By using the repulsion of similar poles the vehicle is levitated. By using the attraction of different poles the vehicle is propelled forward.
Magnetic Levitation Trains
High-speed magnetic levitation trains, called maglevs, have the advantages of being faster, smoother, and quieter than conventional trains. Several countries, including Japan, Germany, and the United States have maglev train development programs. A maglev train in Germany has run at 270 mph (435 km/h).
Electric Propulsion (EP) Products
Aerospace Operations has also leveraged its strong scientific & engineering capabilities to become the world's leading supplier of electric propulsion products which provide extremely high performance for a variety of satellite and spacecraft applications. The company's extensive EP product line includes hydrazine resistojet and arcjet systems, pulsed plasma thrusters, and zenon based ion engines and Hall Effect thruster systems. Our propulsion systems include thrusters, power processing units and associated propellant management, storage & feed subsystems.
We get up to do work for the "retired" chief scientist of the Air Force, conveniently located adjacent to LANL.
If truth be told, the future seems to be arriving just in time.
Walt
That had o almost ruin the trip.
Is eyesight as important to pilots in today's electronic world?
That's one I can't answer. Maybe one of our AF Vets knows.
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