The thing that is telling about “First Man” and its portrayal of Neil, is that you get completely different reactions, for the most part, from those who Neil well, but didn’t have a financial stake in the movie, versus those who did have such a monetary stake.
Also, if anyone is interested, I just finished a new page on my web site yesterday that specifically focuses on the X-15 High Range:
Totally true. I used those words to avoid saying “real pilots” but that’s what I meant. As far as makers go, no question they are alive and well.
Yes, I have indeed noticed that. And as I tried to explain earlier, when I see the sons endorsing the movie, I take that at face value, as I have no reason not to. But I do see your point and how that may be the case. But I’m in no position to question you or the Armstrongs, if you know what I mean.
I have a name, you know… 
No, seriously, I see your point and it’s a valid one.
That’s a very interesting read, and the pictures are SO COOL!
I hope you’ll not mind me shifting subtly the topic but, did you ever manage to talk to Charles Yeager or talk with someone that followed his career?
I’ve read an interesting article about how he actually refused to read the instruments on his 104 and caused a lot of headaches to the technicians- causing delays and waste of opportunities.
Edit: I’m not a native speaker and above everything it’s hard to convey a specific tone with only words on a screen as a tool for communicating - so my intent is NOT to denigrate the fame of Mr. Yeager just to understand better the reality behind the myth.
Worse, I’ve heard that with the cessation of happy hour, closing of stag bars, and finally, the shuttering of O clubs, the rules of dead bug have become in question.
Yes, I’ve spoken to Yeager several times over the years. He is also one of X-15 pilot Joe Engle’s best friends. To relate a story that Joe told me, after he landed the Space Shuttle at Edwards at the end of STS-51I, Yeager was there to greet him. Since they ushered the crew directly to the quarters where they could get cleaned up before meeting the press, Yeager decided that was the best place to surprise Joe. Engle was happily taking a shower when Yeager literally burst into the room and walked right into the shower to give Joe a giant bear hug!
As for Yeager, there are some things that I talk about toward the end of my book that are not very flattering of him. After Scott Crossfield died in his light plane crash, Yeager was the go-to person for the media to get comments. Some of the things he said of Scott were absolutely terrible, literally calling into question Scotty’s piloting skills, among other things. Scotty’s daughter Sally, used only one word in describing Chuck: 'yeagershit."
Ooof, I see. Thank you for answering me. I appreciate this.
Glad to offer some perspective. And thanks for checking out my web site page on the High Range. If you have an interest, there are lots more pages, many of them directly associated with the specific chapters in the book.
Story time boys and girls! (Channeling my inner @Hangar200)
Back when I was more kid than adult I was one of just four pilots for a budding (and future spectacular failure of an) airline. We were a team that had ferried an A320 from Chicago to Dublin with a very stressful stop in Keflavik. Our little group composed of two first officers (my best friend and me), two Captains, a gaggle of flight attendants, and three FAA Inspectors who had just passed our proving runs. We dragged our poor, exhausted bodies into the hotel to find the bar closed. But this being Ireland, the very center of human civilization, the front desk opened the cabinet a gave us unfettered access to all the beer we could drink. We didn’t change clothes. We didn’t even go to our rooms. We piled our bags in a corner, took over the lobby and proceeded to pull the strangest all-nighter I have ever been a part of. Two hours into it, our FAA POI (head FAA inspector in charge of monitoring the airline) screamed “Dead BUUUUUGGG!”
Suddenly, everyone: five female flight attendants in short skirts, three pilots, two mechanics and three aging government bureaucrats were on their backs on the floor, arms and legs shaking and pointing skyward, panties in confident view in some cases and all laughing loudly. Everyone that is but me, Eric. I had never seen such a spectacle. I never even imagined that adults could collectively do something so stupid. I looked over to the lone receptionist to see if I had lost my mind. He seemed just agitated. THAT was my first dead bug.
Long live heavy drinking and short skirts! I lived in a different time and I could not be more grateful for it.
Had to buy drinks myself due to my ignorance of that peculiar ritual. Once.
EDIT: My understanding was the only rule is: Don’t be the last ‘bug’ to hit the dirt.
The “dead bugs” incident sounds similar to one in the astronaut corp asking “Are you a turtle?” That ritual started back among Naval aviators and was brought onto the Mercury program by the first astronauts. Wonder if it is still practiced today, although it is nowhere near as boisterous as the “dead bug” ritual appears to be. 
Ha…me and my 10 year old friends used to play this game when we were kids.
Did your parents allow you to use the correct phrase used by the aviators and astronauts to answer the question?
“You bet your sweet ass I am!”
And if you don’t give the correct response, you have to buy everyone a drink.
Which meant whenever any of us asked the question in front of them…we had to buy the Yoo-hoo… 
My favorite time to do it was when one of my friends was in a classroom and I’d pop my head in and ask the question…there was really no option of the appropriate reply in front of the teacher…haha… What a trip down memory lane…
Yep, that was always the problem in that someone would make sure to ask the question when it would be impossible to answer it, thus getting a free drink. I got a Turtle card from Wally Schirra many years ago when I was doing an event with him. That was one of his favorite things, and I believe he is the one who officially entered it into the astronaut lexicon.
Hi BeachAV8R ! No problem I also thought about other things but I’m still very interested in the X-15 
.