And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Sunday, May 26, 2024
December 4 1963, test pilot Herman “Fish” Salmon shakes Chuck Yeager’s hand, just before Yeager flew 118,860 feet up. "Fish" Salmon. Hahahaha!!
At first I thought, "there's no way an F-104's tiny little wings would retain enough lift to get up to 100,000 feet. Pic must show the tail of a U-2". But wait - there's a rocket motor just above the exhaust. It really WAS a -104. What a ride!
Specially modified F104 Starfighter. The big pipe above the tailcone is a rocket engine. I wonder if this is the flight where he crashed it. Al_in_Ottawa
That plane almost killed Yeager. He managed to get out when the AC started tumbling, but he had a very long free fall, and he ended up with his suit on fire, with the suit life support feeding him oxygen. It was one dicey flight.
Regarding 'Fish' Salmon: the call signs are often funny and/or embarrassing to the pilot. I remember a F-16 guy, 'Donna' Reed. Another F-16 guy 'Rip' was named for a flight where he didn't watch his diet and had some digestive difficulty at altitude. ~ Doctor Weasel
At first I thought, "there's no way an F-104's tiny little wings would retain enough lift to get up to 100,000 feet. Pic must show the tail of a U-2". But wait - there's a rocket motor just above the exhaust. It really WAS a -104. What a ride!
ReplyDeleteSpecially modified F104 Starfighter. The big pipe above the tailcone is a rocket engine. I wonder if this is the flight where he crashed it.
ReplyDeleteAl_in_Ottawa
The plane crashed however he did not…
DeleteNF-104A to be precise.
DeleteThat plane almost killed Yeager. He managed to get out when the AC started tumbling, but he had a very long free fall, and he ended up with his suit on fire, with the suit life support feeding him oxygen. It was one dicey flight.
ReplyDeleteChuck Yeager is the GOAT. Yep, this 104 almost killed him.
ReplyDeleteGood thing 'almost' only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.
DeleteAnd atomic weapons...
ReplyDeleterecall reading that fuselage design of the F-104 was based on the U-2. Kelly Johnson was working on a tight deadline...
ReplyDeleteThat Yeager - F 104 flight is depicted in the movie “The Right Stuff”…
ReplyDeleteRegarding 'Fish' Salmon: the call signs are often funny and/or embarrassing to the pilot. I remember a F-16 guy, 'Donna' Reed. Another F-16 guy 'Rip' was named for a flight where he didn't watch his diet and had some digestive difficulty at altitude.
ReplyDelete~ Doctor Weasel