Illustrations I
Reading edition
My maternal grandfather, Thomas A. Dwyer, my grandmother, Paula, and their children. My mother, Lucia, is third from right.
My paternal grandfather, Judge Amasa Scott Crossfield.
My mother, Lucia, just after her marriage.
My father, Albert Scott Crossfield.
Elena Ruth, Mary Ann, and I, 1928.
Our home in Wilmington, the eucalyptus tree at right.
Carl Lienesch.
McNulty’s Inland Sportster and budding aviator, 1935.
Farmer’s son, 1937.
Showing prize Guernsey bull.
With seaplane models, 1932.
This gas-powered model logged over 1,000 flights.
The radio-controlled model with geodetic construction.
A corner of my shop on the second floor of the farmhouse.
High school graduate, 1939.
The ill-fated Taylorcraft.
Aspiring cadet, 1942.
My home for almost two years, an SNJ over Corpus Christi.
Dive bombers in Jacksonville, 1944. Rear-seat men kneeling, SBD airplane in background. I’m standing second from left.
F6F fighter pilot, Pasco, Washington, 1945.
Corsair pilot, 1946.
A few of the veterans of the Denver fiasco returning to Seattle, 1947, much subdued. I’m on extreme left.
Alice and I visiting the farm in 1947. Our Dalmatian, “Cadet,” in the center.
Beginning a new circle. Tommy tries on the helmet. NAA photo.
My mother in 1947.
My father in 1947.
The family, 1960. Photo by John Bryson.
The X-1, rocket engines ablaze, is tested on the ground. Bell photo.
Preparing to mate the X-1 to the mother plane. Bell photo.
The X-1 snugged into position. Bell photo.
The X-1; straining for altitude. USAF photo.
“Slick” Goodlin going down the elevator to enter the X-1 cockpit. Bell photo.
Three ... Two ... One. Drop! Bell photo.
The X-1, rocket engines ablaze, is tested in the air. Bell photo.
The X-1 landing. USAF photo.
Chuck Yeager climbing out of the X-1 cockpit. Bell photo.
John Griffith of NACA, my boss, after an X-1 flight in 1950. NASA photo.
Bell’s Joe Cannon and the X-1 (No. 3) “Queenie,” at Edwards, 1951. Bell photo.
Sad demise of the “Queenie.” Cannon survived. Bell photo.
The mother plane was also damaged. Bell photo.
Yeager, his linemen, and the support equipment for an X-1-A flight. Bell photo.
The second generation X-1s in parade formation. Bell photo.
Straining for altitude. Bell photo.
The X-1-A; Three ... Two ... One. Drop! Bell photo.
The X-1-B gliding home. USAF photo.
Chuck Yeager surrounded by Edwards personnel immediately following his record-breaking Mach 2.4 flight and violent tumble. Note crewman at left inspecting cracked canopy. Bell photo.
Mutual admiration society. Chuck Yeager and Kit Murray wearing partial-pressure suits, and the history-making X-1-A in background. USAF photo.
X-1-B starts a new Nose Wheel Club. NASA photo.
NASA’s modernized X-1-E joins the club. NASA photo.
The price of progress. Remains of the X-1-D. Quick action saved Everest. Bell photo.
A similar demise for the X-1-A. NASA photo.
The X-3; straining for altitude. Douglas photo.
The X-4 in flight. USAF photo.
The X-5 about to touch down on lake bed. USAF photo.
The XF-92-A on Crossfield Pike. NASA photo.
The nose wheel got tired. NASA photo.
My stable of thoroughbreds, posed before the old NACA hangar. From left: Skyrocket, Skystreak, X-5, X-1, XF-92-A, X-4. NASA photo.
Joe Vensel and NACA pilots. From left: Joe Walker, Stan Butchart, Jack McKay, and a cigar-smoker. NASA photo.
The sonic wall was Yeager’s, the hangar wall was mine. NASA photo.
The Skystreak in flight. NASA photo.
The D-558-II Skyrocket, my loyal steed for four years. Douglas photo.
The faithful grooms: the Skyrocket ground crew. NASA photo.
Mating the Skyrocket. NASA photo.
Straining for altitude. Douglas photo.
Three ... Two ... One. Drop! NASA photo.
Skyrocket in flight. Douglas photo.
Gliding home again. Douglas photo.
Touching down on the lake bed. Douglas photo.
Walt Williams hears it first: Mach 2, Nov. 20, 1953. NASA photo.
The Skyrocket and her three record-holders. From left: Bill Bridgeman, Colonel Marion Carl, and the farmer’s son. Douglas photo.
The X-2 and her Air Force team of jockeys. Clockwise from center: Pete Everest, Iven Kincheloe, and Mel Apt. Bell photo.
Ground-testing the X-2. Bell photo.
The X-2 nested in the mother plane’s belly. Bell photo.
Straining for altitude. Bell photo.
Three ... Two ... One. Drop! The X-2. Bell photo.
The X-2 lands on the lake bed. NASA photo.
Skip Ziegler joins the Nose Wheel Club. Bell photo.
The X-2 and her record holders: Mel Apt in cockpit, Iven Kincheloe on the ladder. Note scorched paint on the nose. Bell photo.
Mel Apt and the second X-2 died on the desert. Bell photo.
CHAPTER 14 ►