tomcervo wrote:
"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.

I just quickly re-read "Tex" Johnston's account of this in "Tex
Johnston Jet-Age Test Pilot". IIRC, Johnston was Chief Experimental
Test Pilot at Bell during the initial X-1 flights. He says "Likewise
much has been made of the purported pilot bonus (hazard pay) committed
by Bell Aircraft for the Phase 1 testing of the X-1 aircraft and the
amount demanded by Goodlin. I was never privy to either of those two
numbers..."

Johnston's recollection of Bell losing management of the X-1 project
goes like this:

Goodlin flew the first powered X-1 flight on December 9, 1946. He
reported satisfactory handling with no comments concerning aerodynamic
control or longitiudinal trim characteristics.

After several more flights, Johnston, based at Bell's Niagara Falls,
NY factory, received a call from the X-1 project officer at Wright
saying that the air force technical people at Muroc (Edwards) say
Goodlin is uncooperative and are unhappy with progress to date.

Johnston flies to Muroc and is told that Goodlin has engaged a
Hollywood agent and instructed that the Wright X-1 project office that
any meetings with Goodlin should be arranged through his agent.

Johnston flies the X-1 (books includes a copy of his "Pilot's Report"
for the flight) on May 22, 1947. He can't believe that "a pilot
[Goodlin] could fly this airplane for two months and never mention the
severe and dangerous deficiency in the longitiudinal trim system." He
grounds the plane until this is fixed. The next day Johnston gets a
call from Stanley at Bell telling him that Wright Field is taking over
the program.

When Goodlin returned to Niagara Falls he was told Bell Aircraft would
not honor his X-1 contract.