He was indeed made of the "Right Stuff"

[Guest John_Cillis]

We will miss Tom Wolfe.  I have the Right Stuff on video, one of the best aviation movies ever made, a tribute to the test pilots and early astronauts in our space program.

John

http://money.cnn.com/2018/05/15/news/tom-wolfe-obituary/index.html

[birdguy]

I also have The Right Stuff on VHS (I still have a player) and the book.

Our generation is slipping away rapidly. 

Noel

[Guest John_Cillis]

9 minutes ago, birdguy said:

I also have The Right Stuff on VHS (I still have a player) and the book.

Our generation is slipping away rapidly. 

Noel

Good news is this 'ol dude is still with us, amazingly...!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Yeager

[charliearon]

The Right Stuff......great movie  Quick test.  can you name the 7 original mercury Astronauts without doing a Google search?  Most people forget one guy!

[birdguy]

No I can't Charlie.  My memory is fading.  I watch Jeopady every night and for many of the questions I know the answer but I just can't bring it up.  One of the penances we pay for having lived too long.

Chuck Yeager's autobiography is a great read.  It's is as much about the free wheeling old Air Force where they had fun.  The title is just Yeager.

One of the stories in the book is when Yeager and General Branch (Twig) were stationed at Holloman FB.  Twig was about to retire in his place up in northern New Mexico.  He wanted some golden trout for a lake near his place.  So they got a New Mexico hatchery truck loaded onto a C-130 and flew to Edwards.  Then they and the Fish and Game crew drove into the Sierras as far as they could and they caught a bunch of golden trout they loaded onto the truck and flew back to New Mexico and planted the fish in his lake.

Unfortunately Twig died before he retired.  I wrote to General Yeager and told him I was a retired SMSgt in New Mexico and would he tell me where the trout were planted.  He sent my latter back and on the back of the letter wrote CHAMA.  But I never did find the place.

That was the old Air Force.  A stunt like that today would have very serious repercussions.

Noel

 

[charliearon]

On 5/15/2018 at 11:22 AM, charliearon said:

The Right Stuff......great movie  Quick test.  can you name the 7 original mercury Astronauts without doing a Google search?  Most people forget one guy!

Just thought I'd put in the answers.

1. Alan Shepard   2. Virgil I. (Gus) Grissom  3. John Glenn  4. Malcolm "Scott" Carpenter  5. Wally Schirra  6.Gordon "Gordo" Cooper  7.  Non-flyer Deke Slayton

 

[Guevorkyan]

Great writer, he had a special way for story-telling. Magnificent humor.

His book The Right Stuff belongs to aviation's most cherishable treasures, a poetical look into the minds of the test pilot community back in the 50s. Oh, those times!

I didn't like the film adaptation, it took so many liberties and, AFAIK, did not like it too much. I will go with Deke's sentiment on the movie: "as bad as the book was good, just a joke".

[Guest John_Cillis]

4 hours ago, Guevorkyan said:

Great writer, he had a special way for story-telling. Magnificent humor.

His book The Right Stuff belongs to aviation's most cherishable treasures, a poetical look into the minds of the test pilot community back in the 50s. Oh, those times!

I didn't like the film adaptation, it took so many liberties and, AFAIK, did not like it too much. I will go with Deke's sentiment on the movie: "as bad as the book was good, just a joke".

I never read the book, I loved the movie only because I watched it with my older brother, we were both adults then.  We used to fight a lot into my early teens, but he grew very close to me once he saw how good I was in aviation, I opened a window for him and a passion for him in technology, he ended up following me, his baby brother, in my footsteps.

I bought a Commodore SX64 because he knew I loved flying and had read about flight simulator, Sublogic back in the day.  He coaxed me to buy it because he wanted to check it out.  And given computers of the day and expectations, we were wowed by what we saw.  Anyway, such were the times, it was a fun movie for friends and couples, a treat movie, a popcorn movie, not Academy Award winning and not Brain Salad Surgery, but satisfying if watched in the right mood.

John

[Guevorkyan]

23 minutes ago, Cactus521 said:

I never read the book, I loved the movie only because I watched it with my older brother, we were both adults then.  We used to fight a lot into my early teens, but he grew very close to me once he saw how good I was in aviation, I opened a window for him and a passion for him in technology, he ended up following me, his baby brother, in my footsteps.

I bought a Commodore SX64 because he knew I loved flying and had read about flight simulator, Sublogic back in the day.  He coaxed me to buy it because he wanted to check it out.  And given computers of the day and expectations, we were wowed by what we saw.  Anyway, such were the times, it was a fun movie for friends and couples, a treat movie, a popcorn movie, not Academy Award winning and not Brain Salad Surgery, but satisfying if watched in the right mood.

John

I encourage you to give it a chance, then! It's even available in eBook if it is more convenient.

I never get tired of recommending it to fellow aviation ethusiasts.

 

EDIT: In my previous comment, I mentioned that "AFAIK, did not like it too much". I was referring to Mr Wolff, he did not like the movie as it failed to showcase the spirit of the story. 

[birdguy]

Another one on my book shelf is Richard Bach's Jonathan Livingston Seagull.  Much of it is about life in general.  I had all my kids read it.

Noel