#flight research

Martin X-24B at the National Museum of the USAF

55 years ago... Rolex at max speed ! October 3, 1967 test pilot William "Pete" Knight wore his personal Rolex GMT-master Pepsi 1675 during X-15 flight 188 taking the hypersonic rocket aircraft to a speed of 7232 Km/hr (Mach 6.7). On October 17 he would take an X-15 to an altitude over 85 kilometers, high enough for USAF astronaut wings. Several photos show William Pete Knight wearing his Rolex GMT-master pilot watch between October 1966 and December 1988. Since 1963, the Rolex GMT-master pilot watch remains the sole timepiece strictly chosen on a personal preference basis by both Russian cosmonauts and International & American astronauts ! (Photos: USAF/NASA)

Tony LeVier with XF-104 (53-7786), Edwards AFB, 1955

October 17, 1967... First Rolex in space... above 50 miles ! 55 years ago, X-15 flight 190 was testpilot William Pete Knight 13th flight in the hypersonic research rocket plane and brought him above 85 kilometers so he qualified for the USAF Astronaut wings awarded to pilots who flew above 50 miles! Again, as during X-15 flight 188 two weeks earlier, Pete Knight had chosen to wear his personal Rolex 1675 GMT-master Pepsi pilot wristwatch strapped over his left forearm. Since 1963, the Rolex GMT-master pilot watch remains the sole timepiece strictly chosen on a personal preference basis by both Russian cosmonauts and International & American astronauts! (Photo: USAF/NASA)

X-15 pilots received USAF “ Astronaut wings “ … August 5, 1965 X-15 testpilots LtColonel Robert Rushworth and Captain Joe Engle received their USAF astronaut wings as military pilots qualified as astronauts if they flew above 50 miles (80 Kilometers). Robert Rushworth flew a record 34 X-15 flights (June 1963 flight 87 above 50 miles) and Joe Engle flew 16 X-15 flights (June 1965 flight 138 above 50 miles). August 26, Joe Engle will turn 90 years, the last X-15 pilot alive! Note both testpilots wore an Accutron Astronaut GMT pilot watch. The microsonic Accutron tuning fork wristwatch, brainchild of Max Hetzel, was introduced by Bulova  in October 1960. (Photo: NASA/USAF)

60 years ago... October 17, 1962 NASA testpilot John McKay, a former Navy pilot, who as a civilian research pilot/aeronautical engineer, made 30 flights in the North American Aviation  X-15 hypersonic rocket planes from October 28, 1960, until September 8, 1966. Note he wore an Accutron Astronaut microsonic tuning fork GMT pilot wristwatch on a coffin link bracelet. Accutron stands for  “accuracy through electronics” and these watches were worn by 8 of the 12 X-15 test pilots, the “Mercury Seven” astronauts, the crew of Gemini III (March 1965) and Gordo Cooper onboard MA-9 and Gemini V. 2020 marked the 60th anniversary of Accutron as the world’s first electronic watch, a microsonic timepiece. Join the SWFG space watches facebook group for more... (Photo: NASA) 

Accutron Astronaut in aviation and spaceflight August 1962, Mercury astronaut Leroy Gordon Cooper photographed during a visit at Tinker AFB. All Mercury-7 astronauts received an Accutron microsonic tuning fork GMT pilot watch. In this photo Cooper wore a one line dial Accutron version. In May 1963, during Cooper’s “Faith-7″ mission, he wore a two-line Accutron Astronaut version… which he also wore on the August 1965 Gemini V mission. Accutron stands for  “accuracy through electronics”  and these wrist watches were chosen by USAF, NASA and CIA pilots. By late 1962 the word Astronaut had been added on the dial to honor both the X-15 testpilots and the Mercury-7 astronauts. In fact, all Mercury astronauts received an Accutron wrist watch and at least 8 of the 12 X-15 testpilots, among whom Neil Armstrong, wore an Accutron GMT pilot watch during X-15 hypersonic research flights. Accutron watches were worn during Mercury-Atlas 9, Gemini III, Gemini V, STS-7 and STS-51D spaceflight missions. In August 1971, Moonwalker astronaut David Scott even wore a Bulova chronograph during the Apollo 15 lunar landing mission. Read more about Accutron and space-flown wrist watches in MoonwatchUniverse’s article series “ Of Time and Space “. (Photo: NASA)    

October 2, 1921 ... Albert Scott Crossfield 100 years ago, American Naval officer & test pilot Scott Crossfield was born. In 1953, at the age of 32, Crossfield became the first pilot to fly at twice the sound and in 1959 he was the first of twelve pilots who flew the hypersonic X-15 rocket-powered aircraft. Moreover, in July 1960, Crossfield survived a catastrophic X-15 engine ground test as the vehicle exploded... later calculations revealed Crossfield was subjected to an acceleration force of near 50 Gs ! Scott crossfield remained at North American Aviation until 1967 before joining Eastern Airlines and later Hawker Siddeley as an aeronautical engineer working on all aspects of civil aviation flight research & development. In 2006, Crossfield died in an aviation accident flying a Cessna in bad weather, he was buried at Arlington Cemetery. This 1959 photo shows Crossfield holding a Topping scale model of the space probing X-15 hypersonic research aircraft. Note he wore a Rolex GMT-master pilot watch, which can be seen in photos up to 1967. (Photo: NACA/NASA/AP)