On a lighter note: Irascible record breaker Chuck Yeager lays into Brits

by | Oct 12, 2016 | On a Lighter Note, Seradata News | 0 comments

American test pilot Chuck Yeager certainly had “the right stuff” when he broke the sound barrier (in injured condition) while flying the .50 calibre bullet-shaped Bell X-1 rocket plane in 1947. But he was never a man to mince his words.

Famously critical of the flying skills of his fellow test pilot Neil Armstrong, he was also one of those who decried the early NASA astronauts as “spam in the can” (though this might have been because his degreeless academic record was not enough for him to join the astronaut corps).

Chuck Yeager Courtesy: US Air Force via Wikipedia

Now Yeager has a new, or rather an old, target in his sights: the British.

Yeager, 93, has noted his view on Twitter that from his wartime experiences, and from a visit a few years ago, that the British are “nasty” and “arrogant”.

Possibly true. But try some Parisians first before you judge us Brits so harshly.

And don’t forget, Chuck, the saying that “you don’t like in others what you see in yourself”.

In your correspondent’s experience (as he recently rediscovered when he inadvertently jumped the queue at a news stand at Phoenix Airport), it is the Americans who are the politest people you can meet on Earth…right up until they pull a gun on you. Figuratively speaking, of course – well, if you are lucky.

Of course, politeness itself is not necessarily a solid indicator of underlying goodness. It can sometimes disguise evil.

Adolf Hitler, was often said to be very charming and polite – well, in between his infamous tantrums – and while he was plotting the murder of millions.  Hitler was, at least, good to his dog “Blondie”, well right up until he fatally tested out his poison on her.

 

About Seradata

Seradata produce the renowned Seradata database. Trusted by over 100 of the world’s leading Space organisations, Seradata is a fully queryable database used for market analysis, failure/risk assessment, spectrum analysis and space situational awareness (SSA).

For more information go to https://www.seradata.com/product/

Related Articles

Categories

Archives

Tags

nasaspacexecoreviewsissesaArianespacevideochinaFalcon 9v1.2FT Block 525virgin galacticULAfalcon 9RoscosmosevaDGAspacewalkaviation weekaressoyuzIGTInternational Space StationRocket LabBeidouawardsBlue OriginStarlinkspaceSatellite broadcastingrussiamoonboeingAirbus DSISROCargo Return VehicleresearchOneWebmarsblogspaceshiptwojaxaorionmarsimpactdelayhyperbolaEutelsatdemocratrocketlunarhypertextobamagoogle lunar prizelaunchVegabarack obamaconstellationSEStourismnorthfiguresthales alenia spacespaceflightnode 2fundedIntelsatRaymond Lygo2009Lockheed MartinExpress MD-2Elon MuskAtlas Vromess2dassault aviationaviationLucy2008wk2sstlukradiomissilesuborbitaldocking portexplorationAriane 5 ECAVirgin OrbittestinternetLong March 2D/2sts-122Ariane 5Northrop GrummanSLSChina Manned Space EngineeringElectronflightspace tourism2010cotsnewspapermissile defensegalileospaceportExpress AMU 1Long March 4Cbuildspace stationaltairsoyuz 2-1aProton Minternational astronautical congressshuttlespace shuttleEuropean Space AgencyLauncherOneCosmosIntelsat 23scaled compositesnew yorkrulesAriane 6hanleybudgetatvVietnamshenzhoucongressMojaveboldenLong March 2COrbital ATKInmarsatcnesnew shepardiaclunar landerGuiana Space CenterkscApollolawsSpace Systems/LoralUK Space AgencyLong March 4BKuaizhou 1AILSprotonUS Air ForceTalulah RileydarpaElectron KSFalcon 9v1.2 Block 5Vega CeuAstriumSkylonpicturebaseusaastronautdragonlanderfiveeventTelesatNorth KoreaSSLAprilSNC50thinterviewLong MarchSea LaunchfalconWednesdaycustomerlinkatlantissuccessor