What was it like to break the sound barrier?
Just flying a plane. You don't hear the sonic boom in the cockpit. The shockwave forms on the wing and extends to the ground - only those on the ground hear it when it hits the ground.

What were you thinking?
Just doing my job.

What were you feeling?
Duty - just doing my job.  Satisfaction - accomplished what we set out to do.

The P-51 and P-38 seem to have similar performance specifications. The P-38 had a great reputation in the Pacific, but you didn't seem to hear much about the P-51 in the Pacific Theater. Were there many P-51's in the Pacific? Why do you think they did not use P-51's for Naval carrier aviation? Using pilots with similar skills, how would a P-38 do in a dogfight up against a P-51?
There were P-51s in the Pacific, but after they had destroyed the German Air Force. Most of the P-38 aircraft in Europe were shot down by the Germans. They could not climb out of a dive, or run away from FW-190 or ME-262 aircraft. They could outrun the Japanese planes, so were very successful in the Pacific Theater. When the B-29s got to the Pacific, the P-51 was the only fighter that had the speed and range to escort them. The P-51 could outperform the P-38 in any area. The Navy flew a few P-51s off carriers but didn't buy it.

Would you happen to know how much the Bell X-1 project (or plane itself) cost at the time?
The initial contract with Bell - issued on 16 March 1945 - for the design and construction of three XS-1 airplanes authorized payment of $4,278,537.

Did Chuck have a "handle" that everyone called him by?
His handle was "CEMENT 64". His Squadron's was "CEMENT" and his number was 64. However, he was NEVER called by this - pilots were called by position. On a mission, each squadron of 16 planes was organized into "flights" of 4 planes each, which were called "Red Flight", "White Flight", "Blue Flight", and "Green Flight". Within each flight, pilots were called by position #1, 2, 3, or 4. On any given flight, Chuck might have the call sign "Blue Flight 1", or "White Flight 3", depending on the position he was flying in. This system was easier to remember with so many pilots cycling in and out, even on each mission.

What is the name of type of the color the X1 was painted with?
Technically, I believe it was a shade of orange called saffron.

I have noticed on documentaries that the word "division" stenciled on the starboard side of the XS1 is mispelled "divison". Is that true, or am I just "seeing things"?
We checked with a few historians and you are quite right!

I wonder if chuck used the Berger Brothers air inflated anti-G suit in his mustang in 1944 and if he did what he thought of it.
Gen Yeager says: Had them by August 1944 - all the pilots in P-51s did - let us pull 6-7 Gs without blacking out and they were great.

Gen. Yeager, What does FREEDOM mean to you?
I spent 60 years in Air Force cockpits, fighting in 4 wars for my freedom and I enjoy the hell out of it!

Gen. Yeager, What inspired your involvement with Wings of Hope?
Having served in the military, all over the world for 60 years, I saw a lot of poverty. I saw a chance to help, through the Wings of Hope.

What is the worldwide impact in your opinion of the work of Wings of Hope?
The impact of all the volunteers on poverty is a pleasure to see. They give hope to so many young people.

Chuck Yeager, you were probably the first to make a sonic boom in Norway. There is great interest in Norwegian aviation historic circles to learn the details of your two flights to Gardermoen Air Base. In May 1955, you flew an F-86F from Hahn Air Base, Germany, to Gardermoen, where you dropped the external tanks and made a supersonic dive over the air show crowd. Can you tell us about it?
The last 3 digits of the F-86F serial number was 417, which was my squadron number. The tanks were released on the ground before the flight, and the aircraft was then put on static display at the show. Two days later, I flew back down to Denmark and then to Hahn AFB in Germany without wing tanks. We were there to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first flight in Norway (1905); I’m surprised that Norway didn't celebrate the 100th anniversary of flight in Norway. I only recall the first name of my contact person in the Norwegian Air Force – John. I stayed overnight in his private home.

The second time you landed at GM was in an F-4 from Germany. Can you tell us about that visit?
It was in 1968. I was a full Colonel and Commander of the 4th TAC Fighter Wing. I led the Wing to Norway to participate in a NATO exercise. We flew non-stop from North Carolina to GM, took the wing to Germany & then back home.

Gen. Yeager, where did your Air Force career take you next?
I was promoted to Brig. Gen in 1969, was assigned to Germany as Vice Commander of 17th AF. In 1971 I was sent to Pakistan to fly with their Air Force for the war against India. I flew the front cockpit in every airplane that I flew in for 60 years. Last one was an F-15E in October 2002. I flew every airplane in the Air Force inventory including the World War II inventory and others of Germany, France, England, Japan, Sweden, and Russia, among others. You may be interested to know that I took my F-4 Wing to Korea during the Pueblo flap in 1968. We took 75 F-4D’s from North Carolina to Honolulu (14 hours), 2 hour lay-over, then to Korea (another 14 hours) with no ground or air aborts.