"I've read that Slick wanted a huge bundle of dough to test the X-1,
which is why Yeager, who was willing to do it for regular service pay,
got the job. "

Goodlin said that he asked for the amount he was contracted for--and an
extra amount, agreed upon by the other pilots, for the widow of a pilot
killed earlier in the testing. The scene in the movie was total
fiction, like many of the scenes in the movie.