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Chalmers Goodlin Obituary
Mr. Goodlin flew 26 test flights in the X-1 for Bell Aircraft Corp. in the mid-1940s, but when the Air Force took over the program, Yeager was given the pilot's seat. He broke the sound barrier in 1947.
"The Air Force took the glory, but it was promised to Chalmers," said Mr. Goodlin's wife, Aila. "They went back on their word to him."
Mr. Goodlin, who was portrayed in the 1983 movie The Right Stuff, developed a love for aviation while growing up in Greensburg, Pa.
Memories and Condolences
for Chalmers Goodlin
2 Entries
Jim Thompson
February 22, 2018
I met Slick when I was ten years old, in 1958. My dad, Tommy Thompson had leased several airplanes from Slick over the years and invited Slick for dinner. I asked him about the exploding Comet jet and future of jet planes, as the 707 had just come out. Then he told me how he and my dad rescued one of the C-46's he had leased from Slick, out of the Beirut Airport during the first Beirut crisis. They had Russian Migs chasing them in the middle of the night because they had to leave without clearance because the airport was under siege.
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