In October 1947, the then Captain Yeager, flying the Bell X-1 experimental aircraft, broke the "sound barrier", flying faster than Mach 1 (the speed of sound). The flight made history.
The exploits of Yeager, and other test pilots of the early Space Age, were immortalized in a book, The Right Stuff, by Tom Wolfe:
The book was later turned into a major Hollywood film:
with actor Sam Shepard portraying Yeager:
Again, happy birthday, General Yeager; you sir, have "the right stuff"!
[A Thomas Clarke endeavor]
