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.
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.