Scott Crossfield
FIRST TO MACH 2, MACH 3 AND NEAR SPACE
Scott Crossfield was born in Berkeley , California , on October 2, 1921. He was often bedridden, during his childhood, with bouts of rheumatic fever and pneumonia. As his health improved, Scott became interested in airplanes and at age 13, started taking flying lessons. After graduation from high school, he enrolled in college; however, World War II changed the course of his life. He applied for and was accepted into the Naval Aviator training program. One of the airplanes he flew was the famous inverted gull wing Chance Vought Corsair.
After the end of WWII, Scott went back to college and earned his Masters of Science degree in aeronautical engineering. Scott worked his way into becoming a civilian test pilot at the Edwards Air Force Base Flight Test Center, California. One of his greatest achievements was to be the first pilot to break Mach 2-- twice the speed of sound. He did this by flying the D-558-2 Skyrocket, created by the Douglas Corporation. And then he flew still faster at Mach 3, or three times the speed of sound.
Later, Crossfield went to work for the North American Company, well-known for its legendary P-51 Mustang in World War II. At Edwards AFB, Scott flew more and more exotic, rocket-powered aircraft and eventually became director of America ’s first true aerospace plane project. The word “aerospace” comes from aero, which means aeronautical flight between the surface of the Earth and space which begins at approximately 62 miles high. Scott flew the X-15 many times to the edge of space and is considered by many aviation historians to be the world’s first true astronaut.
Scott Crossfield has received many awards during his career including the coveted Clifford B. Harmon Trophy in 1960 and in 1961 the Collier Trophy. Both of these were presented by President John F. Kennedy. He has been inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame and the International Space Hall of Fame.
An award called the “A. Scott Crossfield Aerospace Teacher of the Year” is given in his name to outstanding teachers of aviation and space sciences.
Younger youth. Scott Crossfield exemplifies the importance of legitimate drugs which doctors prescribed for him as a child to recover from rheumatic fever and pneumonia. He learned early on that good drugs help, while abuse of drugs will ruin any chance at a successful career. He applied this logic to his career as a test pilot, as well. And he was spectacularly successful. Scott Crossfield knows the advantages of living a drug-free lifestyle. Way to be!
Older youth. Scott Crossfield was one of the first to fly to the edge of space. His X-15 rocket plane was strapped under the wing of a B-52 and flown to the upper altitude limits of the B-52, where he would then fire his X-15 rocket engine and pull the release to free his plane from his B-52 wing mount. He would then shoot forward and up at an incredible speed, disappearing from view in just seconds. At that altitude, the sky loses its blue color, and Scott, as the pilot would then find himself looking upward into the blackness of space itself while accelerating to speeds and altitudes unimaginable just a few years before. But he was not there to sight-see. As a pilot he had many research tasks to perform in just the few minutes that his rocket plane flight would allow. And what a challenge! How do his control surfaces work? How much heat has built up on the aircraft’s surface? How much control does he have over his plane for re-entry? These and so many more were all critical need to know questions for advancement of space flight yet to come. And Scott was the man for the job. He had the qualifications and experience, and just as importantly, he did not abuse drugs or alcohol. Flying on the edge of space at these speeds in an experimental aircraft demands heads-up crystal clear thinking—certainly no place to be drunk or high on drugs. Scott Crossfield knows and lives the advantages of staying drug-free. Way to be!
He is considered to be one of the greatest flight test engineers in the history of aerospace. On April 19, 2006, Scott died in a weather related plane crash near the town of Ranger , Georgia. He was 85 years old.
North American X-15, the World’s First Aerospace plane.
This curriculum is sponsored by the Drug Demand Reduction
Program of the Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters
Maxwell AFB, Alabama
