October 2, 1921 to
April 19, 2006
Scott Crossfield was best known for being the first to fly Mach 2 and also the first to successfully fly Mach 3. He flew most of the Research Airplanes, including first flights in the T-39 and the X-15. Scott has received an incredible number of honors and awards for his many contributions to aviation. His list of accomplishments and credentials are mind boggling. He had a Masters degree in Aeronautical Engineering and a varied professional career. He was a Navy fighter pilot, a Chief Wind Tunnel Operator, a Chief Engineering Test Pilot, an Apollo Program System Director, a Technical Director and held several Vice President positions—all in government and industry. He was a Technical Advisor on aerospace for the U.S. Congress.
Scott was a favorite member of the Aviation Speakers Bureau for 12 years. He spoke tirelessly about the men and machines of the most productive government research program of record. One that brought us to the threshold of space. Scott was brilliant, humble, funny, articulate, a consummate engineer and had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. He was one of the best-loved aviation greats in American history.
Tara Dixon-Engel's wrote, Scott Crossfield closed the book of his life with exactly the same gusto that he had applied to writing each and every chapter over the past 80+ years. Like so many from his generation of explorer/adventurers, Scott was a true American original, a bright crimson thread in the vivid fabric of America’s air and space history.
In Memory of
