X-15 rocket aircraft. "The Right Stuff". A rare interview with Scott Crossfield

[dronescapes]

X-15 rocket aircraft. "The Right Stuff". From Pearl Harbor to test pilot, to the Apollo program. A rare interview with Scott Crossfield

[Eric Hedman]

I was fortunate enough to have a conversation with Scott Crossfield at the EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh the last time he came there.  He was a very nice soft-spoken man that was more than willing to give me a little time to ask a few questions.  It is a memory I treasure because I looked up to guys like him when I was a child trying to figure out life.  I have been fortunate that when I have met some of my childhood heroes, they have all more than lived up to my expectations.

When he was at the EAA AirVenture, he was appearing with Mike Melville, one of the pilots who flew Spaceship One into space.  Mike said that Scott Crossfield was the hero he looked up to.

[testguy]

I was fortunate enough to have a conversation with Scott Crossfield at the EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh the last time he came there.  He was a very nice soft-spoken man that was more than willing to give me a little time to ask a few questions.  It is a memory I treasure because I looked up to guys like him when I was a child trying to figure out life.  I have been fortunate that when I have met some of my childhood heroes, they have all more than lived up to my expectations.

When he was at the EAA AirVenture, he was appearing with Mike Melville, one of the pilots who flew Spaceship One into space.  Mike said that Scott Crossfield was the hero he looked up to.

I also was fortunate to meet Scott in a sky box at an NFL game. He was just as you described and also was a childhood hero.  I have meet several astronauts during my career. Most were true gentlemen with at least one exception .

[fredphillips]

X-15 rocket aircraft. "The Right Stuff". From Pearl Harbor to test pilot, to the Apollo program. A rare interview with Scott Crossfield

I think one of the greatest missed opportunities in all of aviation history was the Air Force and NASA's lack of foresight in not letting Crossfield continue in the X-15 program and allowing Chuck Yeager to join it.

[RoadWithoutEnd]

It's sad nobody builds craft for "rocket jocks" anymore.  If they want the bleeding edge, they take out the human element completely and run it autonomously.  And they don't need the Right Stuff to push the envelope on softer craft.  But I think they're missing something in thinking it isn't needed anymore.

[Robotbeat]

SpaceShipTwo.

[JAFO]

I think one of the greatest missed opportunities in all of aviation history was the Air Force and NASA's lack of foresight in not letting Crossfield continue in the X-15 program and allowing Chuck Yeager to join it.

I don't think Yeager ever flew the X-15, though Wiki lists him a B-52 co-pilot for an aborted flight. There's nothing in Milt's book about him flying it.