Not counting the Sound Barrier- here’s 7 other facts about the Greatest of All Time
In 1944, while fighting in World War Two, Yeager became the first in his flight group to make “ace in a day” by shooting down five enemies in a single mission.
That same year, Yeager also scored one of the first air-to-air victories of the war against a German Messerschmitt ME262 jet fighter.
After a North Korean pilot defected to South Korea, Yeager tested his MiG-15 and became one of the first American pilots to fly that aircraft.
In 1962, Yeager became the first commandant of the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School, and over in late 1963/early 1964 he set a record for completing five flights in the NASA M2-F1 lifting body.
On June 22, 1969, Yeager was promoted to the rank of brigadier general and became the vice-commander of the Seventeenth Air Force.
In 1986, Yeager drove the Chevrolet Corvette pace car for the 70th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500 at the age of 63.
On October 14, 2012, the 65th anniversary of his breaking the sound barrier, Yeager broke it again at the age of 89.