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LOT #40122 |
Current Bid: $2,400
Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager 1946 Flight Test Archive: AT-6F Texan and P-51D Mustang Performance Data from Wright Field....
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Description
Before He Broke The Sound Barrier, Yeager Was Already Pushing Limits, This Rare 1946 Flight Test Archive Captures A Legend In The Making!
Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager 1946 Flight Test Archive: AT-6F Texan
and P-51D Mustang Performance Data from Wright Field.Charles Elwood "Chuck" Yeager (1923-2020), one of the most consequential figures in aviation history, was a decorated World War II fighter ace and pioneering test pilot whose career culminated in the first controlled supersonic flight on October 14, 1947, in the Bell X-1 Glamorous Glennis. The present archive dates from 1946, a pivotal transitional year in which Yeager, newly returned from combat, entered the Army Air Forces' elite Flight Performance School at Wright Field, Ohio-the epicenter of American aeronautical research and development. There, he began the work that would define his legacy: the systematic testing and evaluation of high-performance aircraft at the threshold of the jet age.
This exceptional archive comprises extensive, manuscript flight test reports generated by Yeager during this formative period, documenting performance evaluations of two of the most important American aircraft of the era: the North American AT-6F Texan advanced trainer and the P-51D Mustang fighter. Produced at Wright and Patterson Fields between March and June 1946, these materials capture Yeager's early work as a test pilot, bridging his wartime experience in piston-engine fighters with the emerging discipline of experimental flight testing.
The AT-6F file (March 27-April 10, 1946) consists of approximately 73 pages of charts, graphs, and typed forms completed in manuscript, largely in Yeager's hand and signed approximately 20 times in various forms. Tests include airspeed and altimeter calibration, power required, speed points, and "low" and "high sawtooth" profiles-standardized climb-and-descent sequences used to generate precise performance and engine data across controlled altitude ranges-along with pilot observations and evaluative commentary. Yeager's conclusions affirm the AT-6F as "a good training airplane," noting its safety, handling, and suitability for fighter transition, while recommending only minor refinements.
The accompanying P-51D file (May 9-June 14, 1946), comprising approximately 60 pages, documents parallel performance testing of two Mustangs identified as aircraft "021" and "654." The reports, likewise largely in Yeager's hand and signed approximately 21 times, are preserved in their original titled folder: "PERFORMANCE DATA / NORTH AMERICAN / P-51 D / PILOT / Capt. CHARLES E. YEAGER." Yeager's evaluation is characteristically direct, praising the aircraft as "well designed" and "well constructed," with performance placing it in the "excellent fighter class," requiring only minor improvements.
Aircraft of the AT-6F series, including serial no. 44-81892 referenced herein, were assigned to the Air Materiel Command at Patterson Field, where they supported the training and proficiency flying essential to Wright Field's flight test operations. Within this environment, Yeager and his contemporaries refined the techniques and methodologies that would define modern flight testing.
These documents represent an extraordinarily early and well-documented record of Yeager's transition from combat ace to experimental test pilot, created just months before his transfer to Muroc Army Air Field and his historic supersonic flight. As such, they offer a rare and compelling glimpse into the technical discipline, precision, and judgment that underpinned one of the most significant careers in the history of flight.
Auction Info
2026 June 8 Arms & Armor, Civil War & Militaria Showcase Auction #6339 (go to Auction Home page)
Proxy Bidding Ends
June
8th
Monday
9:50 am CT
Auction Dates
June
8th
Monday
Proxy Bidding Time Remaining
3 Days
1h 18m 38s
Internet/Mail Bids: 8
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Buyer's Premium per Lot:
25% of the successful bid (minimum $49) per lot.
This lot is in: 1 -
Arms & Armor Session
(Lots 40001-40360) - 10:00 AM Central Time, Monday, June 8, 2026.
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Additional Location Info:
Heritage Auctions - Dallas
2801 W. Airport Freeway
Dallas, TX 75261
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