World-Renowned Aviator And Bell X-1 Test Pilot
The aviation community has lost another pioneering spirit, the
hearty and largely self-taught Chalmers H. Goodlin -- known by many
by the nickname "Slick" given to him in his teens. Aero-News has
learned Goodlin died at his West Palm Beach, FL home on October 20
of cancer. He was 82.
With many aircraft looming in his future -- including the
cantankerous X-1, the plane Chuck Yeager would later use to break
the sonic barrier -- Goodlin showed potential of greatness in
aviation even as a 15-year-old boy in the late 1930s. He also
displayed a sense of efficiency, according to his sister Myla
Shestik.
"He used to go to New Alexandria Airport every Sunday for flying
lessons," Shestik, to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "He would
deliver the newspaper by airplane. He would fly as low as he could
go and drop it."
At 16, Goodlin left home to join the RCAF, where a high-school
diploma and college education weren't required to become a pilot --
unlike in the United States at the time. "He did not have formal
education, but he educated himself," said Shestik.
Right away, Goodlin displayed an uncanny knack for and mastery
of flight, leading members of his RCAF crew to nickname him
"Slick," according to Goodlin's brother E. Alton "Al" Goodlin.
"They said, 'Hey, this Goodlin is slick,' and it stuck," Al
Goodlin said.
Goodlin had earned his wings and his commission flying for the
RCAF when World War II broke out in late 1941. Within a year, he
had gone overseas and joined England's Royal Air Force, flying
Supermarine Spitfires. The US Navy got wind of his skills, and he
was recruited back to his home country in December 1942 to test fly
F4F Wildcats, F6F Hellcats, TBF Avengers, and the fabled F4U
Corsair.
In January 1944, Goodlin became a test pilot for Bell Aircraft.
He flew several Bell prototypes, most notably the X-1. With 26
flights under his belt, Goodlin was on track to become the first
man to break the sound barrier -- until the government took over
the program from Bell, and decided to use its own test pilot. Chuck
Yeager only had six years flying experience at the time.
Later, Goodlin joined a group of pilots flying Spitfires in
defense of the newly-established state of Israel, and also played a
role in the formation of the Israeli Air Force. While Goodlin
received many awards and numerous honors for his flying skills, his
sister said her brother did not always get the recognition he
deserved.
"He wrote several aviation articles, appeared in many
documentaries and television interviews," said Shestik. "He saved a
lot of lives delivering supplies during the Nigerian civil war in
the late 1960s for the Red Cross."
"He was a wonderful man, who was so loved and respected his
entire life," she added.
Goodlin stayed in the cockpit into his late sixties, according
to his brother, before a stroke grounded him in the early
1990s.