Chuck Yeager plans to show he still has the right stuff on the 50th anniversary of his historic flight that broke the sound barrier.
Yeager, a West Virginia native, is already making plans for next year's celebration of his Oct. 14, 1947, flight in the X-1 rocket research plane.It has become a tradition for Yeager to break Mach 1 every year with a fighter plane to commemorate the feat. But special 50th anniversary festivities are scheduled next year at California's Edwards Air Force Base, the site of the first flight.
"We want it to be a big deal," said base spokesman John Haire.
Yeager, 73, whose test pilot exploits were celebrated in the book and movie "The Right Stuff," retired from the Air Force in 1975. He works as a consultant to the Air Force and Northrup Corp.