My friend and co-worker, Stan Butchart, had flown the D-558-1 early in his career as a NACA test pilot. Stan once related to me that the cockpit was quite tight. So tight, in fact, that on his first flight in the plane he had not planned the position of his left hand before takeoff and was initially unable to raise the landing gear. His chase kept reminding him to raise the gear as he struggled to free his hand, which was stuck between his leg and something on the cockpit sidewall. He related it as a funny story, but I don't think it was so funny at the time.

Dick