After that “Field of Dreams” encounter, Scott became a regular visitor to my hangar… as did many others who owned a condo hangar at that airport. I was the long standing “mayor” (president of the condo association) and “regular” at the airport. For eleven years I toiled on a project that was always just a little over the edge of my ability. Scott was always helpful and more than one time, observed me struggling to make a part I needed only to show up the next day–part in hand–made in his shop at home. We would often have lunch in Leesburg at an Italian deli where he would be able to sneak some “bad” food. I had lots of questions for him about the early days of the space program and he never tired of answering them and telling interesting stories. He was a walking encyclopedia of information, engineering equations, specifications and if he didn’t know it off the top of his head, he would have the answer the next day or by telephone that night.

When Scott lost his medical temporarily, he asked me if I would act as co-pilot from time to time. I accepted without hesitation… more time to ask questions and learn. We would visit his family and friends across the country and I would be able to listen to his presentations, sit in on meetings with educators, award presentations and other events. He would always make sure that I was seated at any dinner table to which he was invited and that I always had proper accomodations. Scott prefered to fly solo though, so when he got his medical back, I rarely was able to get back into N6579X. He did take me up one day for some practice though. After looking over the airplane I was building he commented that the only airplane he ever flew that had a narrower CG range was the Bell X-4. I think he believed that a low time pilot like myself would likely stall and be killed. So off we went to practice “falling leaf” maneuvers. His C210 shook badly while I struggled to keep it right side up. I finally seemed to get the hang of it and we returned to base (JYO). After examining the airplane Scott found that we had shaken so much some battery acid had splashed out and we had to do a bit of a cleanup.

Whenever I would see him come back from a flight, I would walk over to say hello and help him push back. He had a little game he played with the fuel truck guys. They would always be there within a few minutes to top-off the Cessna and they would ask how many gallons it would take. He would think for a minute and give them a number. Sure enough, just about every time he was within a half gallon or so.

I was stunned when he announced to me his decision to move to Manassas Airport. The reason may provide some insight into Scott’s belief that he would be flying for many years to come. You see, the lease of the land upon which our condo hangars sit comes up for renewal in the year 2012. At that time the town of Leesburg must renew for another ten years if the Condo Association is not in default in our rent payments to the town… which we certainly will not be. Scott was so worried about the slight chance that he would lose his hangar in 2012 or for certain in 2022 that he moved to Manassas where he would have a full 40 year lease. I hope when I get to that age, I will be equally optimistic about my longevity.

When traveling with Scott, the thing that surprised me most was his activities surrounding his annual teacher award. I had the priviledge of attending one of the award ceremonies where he was on the dais with Hoot Gibson. Until that day, I didn’t really realize how important this was to both Scott and the teachers. The fact that he gave of his time and money to such a cause was remarkable. Scott refused to cash-in in any way from his fame. He was truly humble and generous and passionate about aviation and education. When asked by an audience member at the award meeting, who were the four most influential people in his life, he rattled off his four elementary school teachers with the ease that he would say what he just had for breakfast. The crowd went wild… they were all teachers themselves and I admit, it choked me up a bit.

Of course I was devastated when I heard the news of the accident. It just wasn’t fair. I knew that he was looking forward to another 20 or 30 years of flying. He got robbed.

When I got an email from Sally Crossfield Farley telling me that she was forming a foundation to keep her dad’s teacher award going I was elated. This was something that I could do. I could design and build a website that would be a place where people could get information and talk about Scott and how he made a difference in their life. I know that there are many out there who owe a debt of gratitude to Scott and would like to have a place to express that. I hope you take advantage of the resources offered in this website and return often.

It was December of 1970 that I hit New York. I had just had an action packed year of crazy experiences in Toronto after graduation  from college. I was kind of burned out, not to mention broke. Before leaving Toronto, I paid $200 for a brutally  sodomized Chevy Van that had a good motor, but that was about it. It ran well, but nothing worked on it except those bare necessities that were required to pass inspection in Ontario. I’m not even sure what color it was other than rust with a little primer here and there. See for yourself in this picture.

My friend Rory and I drove it to New York and found an apartment that had just been vacated by a fellow named Ed Sanders who led a rock group called the “Fugs“. It was on Avenue A in the lower east side of Manhattan.

The wild ride was to continue for some time in NYC, mostly driven by Rory who was afraid of nothing. It was fun, but I knew there was a different life that was better and I had to find it. My parents had taken great care and made great sacrifices to give me the knowledge and education I needed to take control of my life.

In the fifteen years that followed, I had made a lot of changes. I found a way to make money through honest work and without exploiting people. I was able to get a new car and an airplane to go along with it. I also got a much nicer apartment and a bed with a mattress.

I was happy then and I’m happy now.

What ever happened to the Chevy Van? After accumulating lots of parking tickets in NYC , I drove it back to Toronto and sold it for $200.

This family purchased the property in 2001 from Rory’s siblings who  had inherited it from their parents when they passed away. After Rory’s untimely death, the property remained untouched and was allowed to have a peaceful and graceful burial at the hands of mother nature. In my mind’s eye, I see a series of seasons changing as years go by in fast-forward… glorious autumn colors, comfortable blankets of white snow,  the awakening of spring and the busy summer activity. The structure that he built slowly became one with the earth.

 The new owners had no idea of the history of the property and were surprised to find the remains of the dome buried beneath many inches of soil and moss. As you can see the structure they built is robust and should provide them and future generations of their family with great pleasure and enjoyment.

 Thank you to those who have left comments on the website. I plan on leaving the slideshow site up as long as I am able to operate a computer… which should be for a long time.

I have a pilots license (private, instrument rating) and because of this I often receive forwards from other pilots relating to aviation. Recently I received this one…

In addition to communicating with the local Air Traffic Control facility, all aircraft in the Persian Gulf AOR are required to give the Iranian Air Defense Radar (military) a ten minute ‘heads up’ if they will be transiting Iranian airspace.

This is a common procedure for commercial aircraft and involves giving them your call sign, transponder code, type aircraft, and points of origin and destination.

I just flew with a guy who overheard this conversation on the VHF Guard (emergency) frequency 121.5 MHz while flying from Europe to Dubai. It’s too good not to pass along. The conversation went something like this…

“Iranian Air Defense Radar: ‘Unknown aircraft you are in Iranian airspace. Identify yourself.’

Aircraft: ‘This is a United States aircraft. I am in Iraqi airspace.’

Air Defense Radar: ‘You are in Iranian airspace. If you do not depart our airspace we will launch interceptor aircraft!’

Aircraft: ‘This is a United States Marine Corps FA-18 fighter. Send ‘em up, I’ll wait!’

Air Defense Radar: (no response … total silence)

It was followed with this picture:

On the surface this seems to be a variation on the typical school yard bully challenge. But upon reflection, isn’t it about the power of our technological superiority? Or, to put it another way, “our engineers are better than your engineers”.

There are concerns expressed in the electronic engineering trade journals about the future of engineering. Those of us who grew up in the run-up to being the technology leading country in the world recall the days when building radios from kits was a beginning of a life in engineering… or at least an appreciation of how such things are created.

I was fortunate to have been friends with Scott Crossfield while he was flying out of my old hangout, Leesburg Airport (KJYO). We spoke often about the race to technological superiority with the Soviet Union and the role he played in that race. For more insight into this read his book Always Another Dawn (free).

So, if you have a curious child on your list, give them this book.  Think of it as investment in America’s future.

After thinking about what it is that I do…  the “action” portion of the phrase “what you want the world to know”… and was fortunate to find the short domain name 2kno.com. That was a stroke of luck since four letter domain names that have a connection to anything that means something are all taken.  I  took Helvetica and a popular candy and came up with this. I probably won’t win an award but it works for me. When you see the logo, you may not think about the candy (you will now) but your subconscious mind might recall the feeling of something sweet.

I’m trying to think of when I first realized that a person actually had to design a logo and it was an important job. It was 1962. I was in high school and living in Haworth, New Jersey. My father worked for McGraw-Hill and had to commute to New York City every morning. My mother would drop him off at the train station and then take me to school.

One morning, we got to the station and a gleaming long black limousine was waiting there with a uniformed driver at attention next to it.  This was exciting! Who was getting picked up in a limo? Turned out, it was a neighbor of ours who worked at Lippincott and Margulies (L&M) who, according to my father, had been involved in the design of the new Chrysler logo. This is now known as the Pentastar logo that consists of an ingenious use of five triangles arranged so that the bases form a pentagon. I believe the man’s name was Al Downe. That logo has survived for many years and I’m in awe of it. My father explained when he got home from work that night (he spoke with Al on the train coming home) that the limo ride was to celebrate the fact that Chrysler had decided to go with that logo.

 Now that I think of it, there was an earlier instance of being aware of logos. In 1951 my father bought a new Ford coupe. We didn’t have it for long before the emblem on the hood was stolen.

I was 5 years old at the time and remember asking why someone would take that emblem. The response I recall was that people were using them to make belt buckles. I’m sure that was the first time I ever thought that about someone ”wearing” a company logo… something that is quite common now.