Great Lines

According to Tom Wolfe, he did say it. In the book, I think Wolfe termed it "The Astronaut's Prayer."

'you want a hot dog?'




I was thinking of the immortal words of Socrates, who said, "... I drank what?"

"REQUEST PERMISSION TO RELIEVE BLADDER!"

Fantastic lines in this movie!

"They say there's a demon that lives the air, and anyone who challenges that demon will die. For his controls will freeze up, his plane will buffett wildly and he'll disintergrate. They said that demon lived at Mach 1 on the meter, 750 miles an hour, where the air can no longer move out of the way. They said he lived behind a wall that no man could penetrate, and they called it The Sound Barrier. So they built a small plane, the X-1, and men from all around came to the California High Desert to ride it...they were called test pilots, and no-one knew their names."

"The Romans controlled the world because they had roads. Later, the British ruled because they had ships. In the air phase we became dominant. Now the Communists have established a foothold in outer space. Pretty soon they'll have space platforms to drop nuclear bombs on us like rocks from a highway overpass. Now how the hell did they get one over us?"

"I for one do not want to go to bed by the light of a communist moon"

"Say Ridley, got any Beemers on you?"
"I might have me a stick"
"Well loan me a couple, will you, I'll pay you back later"

"Now this guy has all the qualities that we mentioned. At ease with heights, flames and good in the splashdown phase. Also he's available from the 12th."

My error... In the scene where Ridley and the Airman go in the ambulance to find Yeager in the desert near Edwards AFB, it was an NF-104A Starfighter.... from the rear, and without the extra tanks at the ends of the short wings, it bears a striking resemblance to the X-3 Stiletto, which Gen. Yeager had also taken through its paces as a test pilot.

However... I should have noticed... the X-3 is a twin-engine, not a single-engine:

X-3 Front: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/images/x-3-E54-1228.jpg

X-3 Rear:http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/images/x-3-E55-01994.jpg

F-104 Front: http://www.geocities.com/~propilot/pictures/F-104.jpg

F-104 Rear: http://www.jetplanes.co.uk/pictures/f104/f104-ground.jpg

The NF-104A was a modified F-104 designed for aerospace training. It had a modified tail, larger wingspan and a 6000-lb thrust auxiliary rocket engine mounted on the tail just above the primary nozzle.

The first NF-104A was delivered to the Aerospace Research Pilot School at Edwards AFB, on October 1, 1963. The school's commanding officer was then Colonel Yeager.

On December 6, 1963, the first NF-104A set an unofficial world altitude record of 118,860 for ground-dispatched aicraft (taking off under its own power, unlike the Bell X-1). Maj. R.W. Smith later broke that record with an altitude of 120,800 feet.

On December 10, 1963, the second NF-104A, with Yeager at the stick, went out of control at 104,000 feet. It fell into a flat spin all the way down to 11,000 feet. Yeager managed to eject but was badly burned by the rocket motor of his ejection seat. An investigation later revealed that the spin was not caused by Yeager, but by a gyroscopic systems malfunction.

This is the event recaptured in Tom Wolfe's novel and Phil Kaufman's film adaptation of "The Right Stuff".


More info about the crash site (and photos): http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/NF-104A_crash_site.htm

I am so Avatar's intellectual equal. - MrsO

The line about Yeager being a man was the best line. You have to be brave as hell to do what the test pilots and astronauts did.

Wasn't that "Spam in a can"?

Yeager, as Fred the barfly: "You guys wanna drink whiskey?"

Harry Shearer: "I'd like a Coke...in a clean glass."

"We all think your Jose Jimenez impersanation is A OK, but what you're doing with it is B A D."

Yeager, reaching Mach 2.1: "Sorry Scott"

"How much are we paying him?"
"About 217 dollars"
"A week?"
"A month"
(Perfect pause) "That's not bad."

It's awesome to see Scott Glenn doing Alan Shepard doing Jose' Jimenez (and Bill Dana). Sorry if the lines aren't exact:

-I am Chief Astronaut of the United States. Interplanetary... uh... interplanetary... inter... My name Jose Jimenez!
-Now, Mr. Jimenez, I see that you have your equipment with you, is that a crash helmet?
-ooooh, I hope not!

-My name, Jose' Jimenez. When the pilots go in, they all look the same, when they come out, they all look deeferent...
-How's that? ...Friend I asked you a question!
-When they come out, they all look scared! ....(ahem!) Buenos dias Gonzales!
-Yeah! "Buenos dias" yourself!

-Mr. Jimenez, what is it that you consider the most important thing of being an astronaut?
-De most important thing of an astronaut... the most important thing is... the blast off. I always take a blast before. Otherwise I wouldn't go near that theeng!

-You're clear to land.
-Jose' Jimenez approaching...
-Say again?!
-My name Jose' Jimenez...
-Oh yeah, Shepard! You're clear to land. Some boys want to talk to you about becoming an astronaut.
-They want to make meee eento an astronaut? ooh, I hope not!

-You know, Mr. Shepard, me and my friends think your Jose' Jimenez imitation is... A-OKAY, but what you're doing with it... is B-A-D!
-Oh you're right, you're absolutely right!!

-Permission to relieve bladder!

Don't forget the line that summarizes the movie AND the book in seven (coincidence?) immortal words:


"Who's the best pilot you ever saw?"

LBJ rocking back and forth in his car

LBJ: Gladiolas, is there anybody that can deal with a housewife?.........LOL

The line is more like:

"The issue here ain't pu**y. The issue here is monkey. We are the monkey."