Albert Scott Crossfield’s military career spanned from flight and gunnery instructor to test pilot and record-breaking flyer. After attending an experimental flight test pilot school at Edwards Air Force Base, the outbreak of the Korean War left him to take full responsibility for the Edwards test program. Under his leadership, the program flourished. Undaunted by any plane, he made his first flight in the X-1 rocket plane in 1951 and when the windshield iced over, he used his own sock to clear a hole large enough to allow him to land the plane safely. The X-15 became Crossfield’s pet project and on November 15, 1960, Crossfield exceeded Mach 3, becoming the first man to accomplish such a feat and live to tell about it.
