“He asked a few questions about our deployment and how it performed over Iraq, asked about me and my RIO, where we were from, all while looking around the Super Tomcat,” Robert ‘Jungle’ Jones, former US Navy F-14D pilot
Charles Elwood Yeager, born on February 13, 1923, was a U.S. Air Force officer, fighter ace, and pioneering test pilot. In 1947, he made history as the first confirmed pilot to break the sound barrier in level flight.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest aviators ever, Yeager was ranked fifth on Flying magazine’s 2013 list of the 51 Heroes of Aviation. Over the course of a 70-year flying career, he piloted more than 360 different aircraft types. Even after retiring, he continued flying for another 20 years as a consultant pilot for the USAF. He died on December 7, 2020.
CDR Robert “Jungle” Jones, USN, a retired 20-year Navy fighter pilot and former Top Gun Instructor, said that there was an opportunity to glimpse Yeager as a person. Early in a naval aviation career, shortly after a first deployment, a request came to ferry a brand-new F-14D to Edwards Air Force Base for its annual air show. The assignment was welcome, offering a chance both to visit Edwards and to showcase the Navy’s newest and most formidable aircraft.
The reality, however, was less polished. The supposedly new Super Tomcat had just returned from six months at sea and was heavily marked by anti-corrosion treatments and layers of grease embedded in its porous paint. Hydraulic fluid and fuel leaks were evident, and close inspection revealed traces of rust. It was a working combat aircraft rather than a display piece, and it looked the part.
Upon arrival at the air show flight line, the aircraft was assigned to the farthest position, well removed from the glossy USAF test aircraft and other showpiece planes. It sat roughly two hundred yards from the main exhibition area and the crowds. Because the crew was expected to remain beside the aircraft to answer questions, the day appeared likely to be a quiet one.
Chuck Yeager often opened the Edwards air show with a sonic boom. On that day, Yeager was flying an F-16 and began the show with an impressive pass. A few minutes later, he was driven down the flight line in a golf cart, waving to the crowd. Although Jones and his crew were positioned far from the main activity, it appeared that Yeager glanced in their direction, nudged the driver, and pointed toward their aircraft.
“The friggin’ golf cart suddenly turns towards our filthy machine. He cut through the crowd and continued looking our way. I had a distinct “oh crap” moment and wished so badly I could have washed the jet before we came. We were the only Navy jet there, and while more capable than anything on the field, we hardly looked it. He drove by shiny jet after shiny jet, each one with USAF aircrew standing out in front, ignoring each one, driving straight for us. He pulled up in front, got out with a HUGE smile, and asked me how I like my new hotrod. He asked a few questions about our deployment and how it performed over Iraq, asked about me and my RIO, where we were from, all while looking around the Super Tom. He marveled at the size of our hook (they all do), was fascinated by our long-wave IR search and track system, and generally ignored our fighter’s poor material condition. Toward the end of our brief visit, I wanted to apologize for my machine’s appearance, and was about to say something when he looked me straight in the eye and said,
‘Thanks for bringing a real fighter to the show, Jungle. You’re the only one here.'”
“There were plenty of shiny USAF fighters, but I knew exactly what he meant. They didn’t count because they were test articles and hadn’t been dirtied up or bloodied. At first, I thought our encounter was because he was being some kind of gracious host, wanting us to feel welcome. But I quickly realized as I watched him drive away that even after all the fame and success he enjoyed as a test pilot, he was really just a fighter pilot who missed being in the fight.
Godspeed, Chuck.”
Photo by Robert Jones, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy
