Glamorous Glennis is grounded!

[Beemerguy53]

Ever since the National Air and Space Museum first opened in downtown Washington in 1976, Chuck Yeager's Bell X-1 rocket plane (named Glamorous Glennis) has been suspended from the roof of the Museum's Milestones of Flight Gallery, about 30 feet above the floor.

Well, the NASM has been undergoing renovation for the last several years, and you can imagine my pleasant surprise when I saw the X-1 on temporary exhibit the other day at the NASM's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (at Dulles Airport in Virginia), actually sitting right there on the floor!

 

[Rudi]

Super cool, I was there in 1969, it was a trip. IIRC, he had broken/cracked ribs when he flew it. Had to use a chunk of broomstick to close the hatch. Loved his old commercial. "I've been shot at, shot up, and shot down." A true American hero.

 

[Rustyt1953]

In the late 80's I got the autographs of Chuck Yeager and Robin Olds at the Dayton Air Show.

 

[CH4]

While attending the academy at Quantico, I would visit the Smithsonian whenever time permitted. The Air & Space Museum was my favorite.

 

[fordson]

I used to travel to DC for work quite often, too often in fact. Only good thing about those trips was my frequent visits to the Air and Space museum and an occasional visit to the U-H Dulles Center. Those visits were worth the trip…..

 

[two-bit cowboy]

Great photos. Thanks for sharing.

I left D.C. in November '74, when the NASM was still barroom buzz. Haven't been back. Would love to see it.

 

[Kinman]

I got a three day pass to Washington D.C. in '69, not nearly enough time to see much of anything in depth. Did a whirlwind tour of the museums and barely remember the Mercury capsule and Lindberg's "Spirit". Other than that and the full sized steam locomotive in the basement it was all a blur. I remember walking into the Museum of Natural History and being blown away by the size of the blue whale hanging from the ceiling. It was a totally different country then, I walked into the halls of Congress...visited with my Senator Hatch, saw Teddy Kennedy working in his office. Just walking around with my teeth in my mouth. The rest I will refrain from expressing...

 

[Hair Trigger]

In the late 80's I got the autographs of Chuck Yeager and Robin Olds at the Dayton Air Show.

In 1988 I drank beer with him at the Brooks AFB Officer's Club. As the far, far, far junior officer, I was buying for the General. You can't help but admire the guy, he's been there and done that, and laughed at the tee-shirt. He was the kind of guy, though, if you asked a question, you better be ready for the answer, and you might feel like an idiot later for asking it. He had no fear of pissing anyone off. He told it like he saw it.

 

[Beemerguy53]

In the late 80's I got the autographs of Chuck Yeager and Robin Olds at the Dayton Air Show.

Back in the '80s, General Yeager used to speak at the NASM every year in early October, on or about the anniversary of his first sound-barrier flight in the X-1, which was on October 14, 1947.

After his talk -- which was really him reciting some of his favorite anecdotes and war stories -- he would sign autographs. I have copies of his books to pass down to my sons, and had both of them autographed by him.

In 1987, when my elder son was about 5 years old, I took him with me to the NASM, and General Yeager let me take a photo of my boy standing next to him. The next year, I took an 8x10 of that photo for General Yeager to sign.

It's archive-framed, and hanging in my home now...

 

[Beemerguy53]

Great photos. Thanks for sharing.

I left D.C. in November '74, when the NASM was still barroom buzz. Haven't been back. Would love to see it.

It's well-worth the visit. The NASM downtown is about to re-open after renovations, but the Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles Airport is fantastic. The Space Shuttle Discovery is there, as well as the Enola Gay, an SR-71, a Concord, a Boeing 707, several sole-survivor WWII German airplanes, and a number of combat veteran Cold War era jets.

If you're an aircraft buff, it's very interesting...

 

[Hair Trigger]

The circumstance I mentioned above was while I was TDY at BAFB, in San Antonio. The base is closed now. The general had come to speak to an aerospace medicine group that I was a part of, being there for Flight Nurse training. One of my classmates left a note on his VOQ door, inviting him to the OC for drinks that evening. He actually showed up, stayed for several hours, and was never without a beer in his hand. I was more interested in his shoot-down during WWII and his escape and return to flying, than I was of his breaking the sound barrier. He related several tales of flying Mustangs in WWII, which I found completely fascinating.
I did get an autograph, and a picture with him. He must have had 50 pics made with different people that evening.

 

[Beemerguy53]

The circumstance I mentioned above was while I was TDY at BAFB, in San Antonio. The base is closed now. The general had come to speak to an aerospace medicine group that I was a part of, being there for Flight Nurse training. One of my classmates left a note on his VOQ door, inviting him to the OC for drinks that evening. He actually showed up, stayed for several hours, and was never without a beer in his hand. I was more interested in his shoot-down during WWII and his escape and return to flying, than I was of his breaking the sound barrier. He related several tales of flying Mustangs in WWII, which I found completely fascinating.
I did get an autograph, and a picture with him. He must have had 50 pics made with different people that evening.

For those who might be unaware of what happened to Yeager in WWII...he was shot down over occupied France in the spring of '44, wounded in the leg, and bailed out of his Mustang. The Maquis spirited him south toward neutral Spain over a couple of months, and he and another evading pilot headed over the Pyrenees toward freedom.

A German patrol detected them, fired upon them, and hit Yeager's companion in the knee. Yeager paused long enough to finish amputating the man's leg, then slung him over his shoulder and ran across the mountain into Spain, with the Germans chasing and shooting at him.

During one of the General's lectures at the NASM, a young man in the audience, clearly in awe, asked him how on earth he was able to accomplish this???

Yeager laughed and told the audience there ain't a German born who can catch a West Virginian in the woods...

 

[ancient-one]

I got a three day pass to Washington D.C. in '69, not nearly enough time to see much of anything in depth. Did a whirlwind tour of the museums and barely remember the Mercury capsule and Lindberg's "Spirit". Other than that and the full sized steam locomotive in the basement it was all a blur. I remember walking into the Museum of Natural History and being blown away by the size of the blue whale hanging from the ceiling. It was a totally different country then, I walked into the halls of Congress...visited with my Senator Hatch, saw Teddy Kennedy working in his office. Just walking around with my teeth in my mouth. The rest I will refrain from expressing...

Your different country statement should make us think of what we have allowed to happen, some of it because of our apathy.

 

[JJEH]

Chuck Yeager and Roy Weatherby sr. were good friend, Yeager has made several advertisements and has been well presented in the catalogs.

They are "The Right Stuff" and they are cut from a different cloth!

 

[Hair Trigger]

For those who might be unaware of what happened to Yeager in WWII...he was shot down over occupied France in the spring of '44, wounded in the leg, and bailed out of his Mustang. The Maquis spirited him south toward neutral Spain over a couple of months, and he and another evading pilot headed over the Pyrenees toward freedom.

A German patrol detected them, fired upon them, and hit Yeager's companion in the knee. Yeager paused long enough to finish amputating the man's leg, then slung him over his shoulder and ran across the mountain into Spain, with the Germans chasing and shooting at him.

During one of the General's lectures at the NASM, a young man in the audience, clearly in awe, asked him how on earth he was able to accomplish this???

Yeager laughed and told the audience there ain't a German born who can catch a West Virginian in the woods...

The finish of that story is, when he was repatriated to the Allies, he was grounded. Any soldier or airman who received aid from the Maquis or Underground in an escape, was deemed a danger to those forces if they were captured again, because they knew too much about their operations. He appealed directly to Eisenhower to regain flight status and get back in the war.

 

[Beemerguy53]

The finish of that story is, when he was repatriated to the Allies, he was grounded. Any soldier or airman who received aid from the Maquis or Underground in an escape, was deemed a danger to those forces if they were captured again, because they knew too much about their operations. He appealed directly to Eisenhower to regain flight status and get back in the war.

Yep...and when he shot down five German aircraft in one mission -- coincidentally 78 years ago today...Stars and Stripes put his photo on the cover with the headline "Ike's Judgment Vindicated"...

Chuck Yeager Remembered: Crazy Stories From A Supersonic Life

 

[jschmidt]

Udvar-Hazy is the better of the two locations.

 

[Beemerguy53]

Udvar-Hazy is the better of the two locations.

I have to agree. The last time I was at the NASM in downtown Washington, it seemed to me that the Smithsonian decided to orient it toward children or adolescent visitors. The Udvar-Hazy Center is clearly oriented more toward adults.