Foolish Earthling Productions mourns the passing of two icons of aviation, X-15 pilot and co-designer Scott Crossfield, and Mercury/Gemini/Apollo astronaut Wally Schirra. Both men were 84 years old at the time of their deaths. Each was an inspiration to generations of fliers and aviation fans alike.

Aviation pioneer Scott Crossfield was killed on April 19th, 2006, when his Cessna 210A went down north of Atlanta, GA. The cause of the crash remains unclear, although thunderstorms were reported in the area. Crossfield was the sole occupant of the aircraft. Crossfield was the first to fly a rocket-propelled plane to Mach 2 and beyond, and the first to fly the Mach 7-capable X-15 rocket plane. He was later heavily involved in design and testing for NASA's Gemini and Apollo projects.

Wally Schirra died of natural causes on May 3rd, 2007. He was one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts, and the only pilot to fly in (and command) all three early NASA programs; Mercury, Gemini and Apollo. Wally was well-regarded throughout his career for his extraordinary proficiency as a test pilot, as well as for a near-endless tension-relieving series of practical jokes and "gotchas".

On a personal note, both men did Foolish Earthling Productions many favors during the production of our recent series ROCKET SCIENCE. Their generosity with their time and resources led to both appearing in several episodes.

Author Tom Wolfe described Crossfield, Schirra, Chuck Yeager and other members of the brotherhood of test pilots as possessors of "the right stuff", which he defined as "the ability to go up in a hurtling piece of machinery and put his hide on the line and then have the moxie, the reflexes, the experience, the coolness, to pull it back in the last yawning moment -- and then to go up again the next day, and the next day, and every next day."

This clip, a short sequence from the ROCKET SCIENCE episode "The Rocketeers", details Scott's handling of an unexpected situation during an otherwise routine X-15 engine test.

And this clip, from the ROCKET SCIENCE episode "The Learning Curve", reveals Wally's coolness under fire during a near-calamity on the launch pad.

We present both in tribute to two great men; good friends and personal heroes to us all. There are damn few left.