Yeager’s wild ride in the Bell X-1A
Transcript follows
Yeager: (Illegible – inaudible – gasping) – I’m down to 25,000 over Tehachapi. Don’t know whether I can get back to the base or not.
Jackie L. “Jack” Ridley (flying low chase in an F-86 Sabre): At 25,000 feet, Chuck?
Yeager: Can’t say much more, I got to (blurry) – save myself.
Yeager: I’m – (illegible) – (Christ!)
Ridley: What say, Chuck?
Yeager: I say I don’t know if I tore anything up or not but Christ!
Arthur W. “Kit” Murray (also in an F-86, flying high chase): Tell us where you are if you can.
Yeager: I think I can get back to the base okay, Jack. Boy. I’m not going to do that anymore.
Murray: Try to tell us where you are, Chuck.
Yeager: I’m (gasping) – I’ll tell you in a minute. I got 1800 lbs [nitrogen] source pressure.
Murray: Chuck from Murray, if you can give me altitude and heading, I’ll try to check you from outside.
Yeager: Be down at 18,000 feet. I’m about – I’ll be over the base at about 15,000 feet in a minute.
Murray: Yes, sir.
Yeager: Those guys were so right!
Yeager: Source pressure is still 15 seconds, I’m getting OK now.
Yeager: I got all the oscillograph data switches off. 4 fps camera off, it’s okay.
Bell Truck: Jettison and vent your tanks.
Yeager: I have already jettisoned. Now I’m venting both lox and fuel. Leaving hydrogen peroxide alone.
Bell Truck: Roger.
Yeager: I cut it, I got – in real bad trouble up there.
Yeager: Over the base right now, Kit, at 14,500 feet.
Murray: I have you.
Yeager: Does everything look okay on the airplane?
Murray: I’m still catching up to you.
Yeager: Going to do a 360 here to the left.
Murray: I don’t have you, that’s a T-33.
Yeager: I’m right over the end of the diagonal runway – right over the North-South runway at the 3 1/2 mile marker. I’m going to make a right-hand pattern.
Yeager: Gear coming down. Source pressure is still 1650. Gear down and locked.
Yeager: Kit, got me in sight yet?
Yeager: Huh?
Murray: Negative.
Yeager: Came down to 12,000 feet on a right-hand downwind leg over the end of the East-West runway in the sound end of the lake.
Murray: All right, roger, I see him.
Ridley: Got him, Kit?
Murray: Yes.
Yeager: Flaps coming down.
Yeager: Source pressure still 1600.
Yeager: I’m a little bit fogged up – not too bad.
Murray: No, I don’t have you, Chuck.
Yeager: I’m on the base leg, I’ll be landing on 35 right in a minute.
Maj. Thompson (on ground): Kit, swing to the right sharp, clear down on the edge of the lake bed, this is Tommy.
Yeager: I’ll be down over the South track there in a minute, down to 7,000 feet.
Murray: Roger.
Yeager: Going to land a little long, I would appreciate [it] if you’d get there and get this thing off (meaning pressure suit.) I’m hurting.
Maj. Thompson: On the final, Kit.
Yeager: Just over the edge of the lake right now, Kit, got about 220 indicated.
Maj. Thompson: Right in front of you, Kit, to your right. Down below you to the right, Kit.
Yeager: 1550 everything is all right. By God–I told you that–that counter went around twice.
Murray: Coming off 50 – 30 – 20 – 20 – 20 – 5 – 2 – holding about 2 ½ – 2 – 1 – looks good, mighty fine.
Yeager: You know, if I’d had a seat you wouldn’t still see me in this thing.
Bell Truck: Chuck, did your suit blow on you?
Yeager: No, it never did. I opened the – uh – it got up to about 43 thousand and I opened the windshield defroster and it went back down. I think I busted the canopy with my head. I don’t know.
Bell Truck: WOW!