Aviation legend Chuck Yeager moved to Grass Valley in 1975. See the Bee’s photos of him
By Sacramento Bee staff
Aviation legend Chuck Yeager wears the outfit of a western outdoorsman at his home near the Nevada County airport in September 1988. He and his wife Glennis settled in the Grass Valley area, where she was born, after he retired from the Air Force in 1975. Yeager, 65, doesn’t own a plane, but sometime flies military aircraft at Edwards Air Force Base, where he is a consultant, or the corporate jet of Lousiana-Pacific, for which he is a director.
Dick Schmidt
Sacramento Bee file
Aviation pioneer and war hero Chuck Yeager, a longtime Grass Valley resident, died on Monday, Dec. 7, 2020 in Los Angeles, according to news reports. He was 97.
Brig. Gen. Charles “Chuck” Yeager moved to the Grass Valley area, near where his first wife Glennis was born, in 1975 after he retired from the U.S. Air Force.
Aviation pioneer and Grass Valley resident Chuck Yeager wears an AC spark plugs cap – he appears in their commercials – in 1985 as he reviews actor Sam Shepard’s portrayal of him in the film “The Right Stuff.” Yeager, who has a cameo in 3 hour, 13 minute movie, admits he has already seen it “about eight times.” Owen Brewer Sacramento Bee file
General Chuck Yeager signs autographs for the many invited guests to the opening of Aces Supper Club on Wednesday, Dec. 8, 1999. The club, located at 5325 Date Avenue near Madison Avenue, salutes the area’s aviation history when neighboring McClellan Air Force base dominated the economy of the Sacramento region. A replica of Yeager’s P-51 Mustang WWII era fighter hangs outside of the restaurant. Jose M. Osorio Sacramento Bee file
A replica of Gen. Chuck Yeager’s P-51 Mustang WWII era fighter plane is lifted on Dec. 7, 1999, by a crane atop a 46-foot reproduction of an airport control tower built outside of the new Aces Supper Club off Interstate 80. Jose M. Osorio Sacramento Bee file
Bear River High School running back and linebacker Cody Yeager stands with his grandfather, aviation icon Chuch Yeager, as his team practices for the playoffs on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2003. Carl Costas Sacramento Bee file
Gen. Chuck Yeager waves to the crowd after being introduced at the Beale Air Force Base air show on Sunday, April 19, 2009. Randy Pench Sacramento Bee file
Gen. Chuck Yeager, the most famous test pilot of all time, shares his experiences with the audience and answers questions at the Aerospace Museum of California on June 12, 2011. Paul Kitagaki Jr. Sacramento Bee file
Retired general Chuck Yeager watches presentation of his career as a test pilot at the Aerospace Museum of California on June 12, 2011 at McClellan Park. Paul Kitagaki Jr. Sacramento Bee file
Gen. Chuck Yeager and his wife Victoria share his experiences with the audience and answer questions at the Aerospace Museum of California on June 12, 2011. Paul Kitagaki Jr. Sacramento Bee file
Air Force test pilot Gen. Chuck Yeager was inducted into the California Hall of Fame Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009. Hector Amezcua Sacramento Bee file
Aviator Chuck Yeager talks with Mike Love of the Beach Boys during Love’s induction to the California Hall of Fame on Dec. 8, 2011. Yeager, who was inducted in 2009, was in attendance as Gov. Jerry Brown and first lady Anne Gust Brown hosted the ceremony, which also added astronaut Buzz Aldrin to the hall. Hector Amezcua Sacramento Bee file
Legendary pilot Chuck Yeager appears in Fresno for a court case on April 24, 2014. A Fresno law firm sued Yeager and his wife Victoria for an unpaid bill of nearly $270,000. The case eventually settled. MARK CROSSE Fresno Bee file
The license plate from Chuck Yeager’s truck says Bell X1, referring to the aircraft Yeager flew when he was the first man to break the sound barrier. MARK CROSSE Fresno Bee file
This story was originally published December 8, 2020 at 9:55 AM.
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