The Other X-1 Pilot: 
Chalmers “Slick” Goodlin, who lost the ride of a lifetime in the 1940s when he resigned as the Bell X-1 test pilot over a contract dispute, died last month at age 82. Goodlin had made 26 flights in the X-1, but the sound barrier-breaking flight would go to Air Force Capt. Chuck Yeager. Goodlin served with the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II and became a US Navy test pilot.
The roles and missions executed by Air Force warriors are essential to the nation’s security. Yet after three decades of constant demand and minimal replenishment, our Air Force is too small and too old. It needs to be rebuilt. The Trump administration and Congress must fund that modernization to ensure…