After reading several articles about the tragic death of Scott Crossfield (including yours in the May 5 issue), I feel the need to say something about the man I am proud to call my friend.
Scotty and I were introduced about 12 years ago by a mutual friend and have since become good friends. We rarely missed a dinner together at Oshkosh, Sun ‘n Fun or whatever aviation event we both happened to be attending. Like any of us who live and breathe airplanes, Scotty loved to talk all things aviation. But not once did he ever brag, gloat or even bring up the subject of his accomplishments. He would always answer questions and talk about the things that happened during a flight or event, but never in a “I did it…” sort of way (unlike you know who!). Equally important, he never had a negative thing to say about anyone he was associated with throughout his career (even you know who!).
He just kept that to himself. Believe me, I pried as much out of him as he would let me and every conversation was an aviation history lesson. He did so much more than just fly. The engineering and designing that he is responsible for could take pages, from the space suit for the X-15 that led directly to the suits for Mercury and Gemini to the X-15 seat whose design and fit started from a John Deere tractor.
Arrogant? Not hardly (hello Mr. Teapot). My friend Scott was a true gentleman and I will miss him.
Dewey Conroy
Pacific Coast Avionics
Aurora, Ore.