Up for auction "Test Pilot" Scott Crossfield Hand Signed 3X5 Card.This item is
certified authentic by Todd Mueller Autographs and comes with their Certificate
of Authenticity. ES - 7105 Albert
Scott Crossfield (October
2, 1921 – April 19, 2006) was an American naval officer and test pilot. In 1953, he became the first pilot to fly at twice
the speed of sound. He was the
first of twelve pilots who flew the North American X-15, an
experimental spaceplane jointly operated by
the United States Air Force and NASA.
Born October 2, 1921, in Berkeley, California,
Crossfield grew up in California and Washington. He served with
the U.S. Navy as a flight instructor and fighter pilot during World War II. During this time, he flew the F6F and F4U fighters,
as well as SNJ trainers, and a variety of other aircraft. From 1946 to 1950, he
worked in the University of Washington's Kirsten Wind
Tunnel while earning his Bachelor of Science degree
in 1949 and Master of Science degree
in Aeronautical Engineering in
1950. As chief engineering test pilot for North American, Crossfield played a major
role in the design and development of the North American X-15 and
its systems. Once it was ready to fly, it was his job to demonstrate its
airworthiness at speeds ranging up to Mach 3 (2,290 mph). Because the X-15
and its systems were unproven, these tests were considered extremely hazardous.
Crossfield flew 14 of the 199 total X-15 flight tests with most of these tests
establishing and validating initial key parameters. Crossfield not only
designed the X-15 from the beginning, but introduced many innovations,
including putting engine controls of the rocket plane into the cockpit.
Previously, all engine adjustments resulted from technicians making adjustments
on the ground based upon results of flight profiles. It was during this time
that Crossfield was part of the U.S. Air Force's Man In Space Soonest project.
On June 8, 1959, he completed the airplane's first flight, an unpowered glide
from 37,550 feet. The flight was troubled as the flight controls had not been
set up properly. As Crossfield attempted to land the unfueled X-15, it went
into what Crossfield described as "a classic PIO" or pilot induced
oscillation. He managed to set down the X-15 on the desert runway at the bottom
of one of the severe oscillations saving himself and the airframe. On September 17, 1959, he completed the first
powered flight. Because of delays in the development of the X-15's mammoth
57,000 pounds force (254 kN) thrust XLR-99 engine, the early flights were
completed with a pair of interim XLR-11 rocket engines. Shortly after launch on
his third flight, one of these engines exploded. Unable to jettison his
propellants, Crossfield was forced to make an emergency landing during which
the excessive load on the aircraft broke its back just behind the cockpit. He
was uninjured and the airplane was repaired. On June 8, 1960, he had another
close call during ground tests with the XLR-99 engine. He was seated in the
cockpit of the No. 3 X-15 when a malfunctioning valve caused a catastrophic
explosion. Once again he was uninjured as Dr. Toby Freedman, NAA Medical Director, pried open the cockpit to
save him and despite being subjected to a later calculated acceleration force
of near 50 Gs (although Crossfield stated in the Discovery Channel's
series Frontiers of Flight that he began to have debilitating
issues with his night vision after the accident) and the airplane was
completely rebuilt. On November 15 of the same year, he completed the X-15's
first powered flight with the XLR-99 engine. Two flights later, on December 6,
he brought North American's demonstration program to a successful conclusion as
he completed his final flight in the X-15. Although it had been his hope to
eventually pilot one of the craft into space, the USAF would not allow it, and
gave strict orders which basically amounted to "stay in the sky, stay out
of space." Altogether, he completed 16 captive flights (mated to the B-52 launch
aircraft), one glide flight and 13 powered flights in the X-15. The retirement
of the X-15 (due to funding cutbacks) after its record-setting Mach 6.70
(4,520 mph)[7][8] flight prompted pilot Pete Knight to remark that he would have pushed it to
even faster speeds if he knew it was the last flight. In his remarks to a
number of aviation groups, Crossfield cited the X-15 as one of few aircraft
that caused grown men to cry upon its retirement. He remained at North American
as systems director of test and quality assurance in the company's Space and
Information Systems Division where he oversaw quality, reliability engineering
and systems test activities for such programs as the Apollo command and service modules and the Saturn II
booster. In 1966, he became the division's technical director for research
engineering and test. |