Chuck Yeager, the historic test pilot portrayed in the movie “
The Right Stuff,” is dead at the age of 97, according to a tweet posted on his account late Monday.
"It is w/ profound sorrow, I must tell you that my life love General Chuck Yeager passed just before 9pm ET," said the tweet, attributed to his wife, actress Victoria Scott D'Angelo. "An incredible life well lived, America’s greatest Pilot, & a legacy of strength, adventure, & patriotism will be remembered forever."
The legendary pilot and retired brigadier general became the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound on Oct. 14, 1947.
The flight in the Bell X-1, which saw him travel to 700 miles per hour, launched the Space Age. But for Yeager, then 24, it was just another job for a young test pilot.
The rocket-propelled orange airplane was called the "Glamorous Glennis" after Yeager's first wife, who passed away in 1990. The aviation feat, meanwhile, was kept secret for months.
He later received widespread recognition because of Tom Wolfe’s book, ″The Right Stuff,″ and the movie based on it, where he was portrayed by actor Sam Shepard.
It told the story of the first astronauts.
"I was the 1st Commandant of ARPS 1st school for training 1st astronauts," Yeager wrote. "I am fully aware of US goals: Presidents Eisenhower, JFK, Johnson & Nixon: US will get to the moon 1st. & we did. 1st step was getting above MACH 1. We did that 1st, too."
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