Wallace Aiken Scott (July 4, 1924 – February 8, 2003) was an American aviator and author, a holder of several international sailplane records, and a multi-time recipient of the Lewin B. Barringer trophy awarded for the longest, free-distance, sailplane flight of each year made in the United States. Over 36 years Wallace Wally Scott increased the distance flown in a sailplane.
Scott became a pioneer of free-distance, straight-out, soaring flight and won four Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI)-certified, world soaring records, 20 Lewin B. Barringer Trophies, and numerous other awards and honors, including induction into the Soaring Hall of Fame in 1965.
Scott flew various sailplanes more than 300,000 miles while twice winning the transcontinental Smirnoff Sailplane Derby race, the longest sailplane race in the world. On July 26, 1970, he and Ben Greene co-set the world distance record of 716.95 miles, both flying ASW-12 sailplanes.Hilbert Thomas, 2010, p. 200
Early years Scott was born on July 4, 1924, in Van Horn, Texas, the son of Claude Winfred and Maggie Elizabeth Scott. He had four siblings and the family left Van Horn in 1926 and moved to Best, Texas, when Scott was two years old. The economy eventually forced the Scott family to move north to Odessa, Texas when Scott was age 12. Here they established the family’s successful movie theatre business.Hilbert Thomas, 2010, pp. 19,34
Early aviation career Scott learned to fly at Fort Stockton, Texas where his brother, Oliver "Scotty", taught him to fly. His brother had become an instructor with the Civilian Pilot Training Program in Fort Stockton. Scott later wrote, “On October 2, 1942, the day after my introductory flight, O. E. Scott "Scotty", logged for W.A. Scott thirty minutes of dual in Cub J-2.”Hilbert Thomas, 2010, p. 40
In 1943, Scott earned his pilot’s license and, with his brother's help, he became a flight instructor at the Fort Stockton detachment of Pacific Air Schools, Ltd. Scott taught his sixth and final class of cadets in January 1944 and by March had left Fort Stockton and joined the Ferry Command branch of the Army Air Corps.Hilbert Thomas, 2010, pp. 46,49
World War II experiences Scott was accepted to go to Randolph Field in San Antonio, Texas and attend flight school in order to obtain an aircraft instrument rating. After graduation, he reported to Nashville, Tennessee to continue his training with Ferry Command. After completing his training, Scott was assigned to Palm Springs, California and served as a co-pilot on the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, Douglas C-47 Skytrain and Douglas C-49.Hilbert Thomas, 2010, pp. 50-51,54
In August and September 1944, Scott participated in several domestic evacuation flights, taking wounded soldiers from the Pacific coast to the eastern United States and vice versa. On October 18, 1944, he was assigned to a C-47 to be ferried from Bangor, Maine to join the Air Transport Group based at Le Bourget in Paris, France. Scott’s duties while based at Le Bourget included delivering supplies to airfields near the front lines and flying wounded personnel to England.Hilbert Thomas, 2010, p. 58
In February 1945, Scott was transferred to Dum Dum Airfield on the northeastern edge of Calcutta, India and away from the front lines. Dum Dum airfield served as a major supply point for ferrying supplies to Chiang Kai-shek’s forces in Kunming, China. Scott flew cargo and personnel over The Hump in both Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commandos and C-47 aircraft. With the war over, on December 16, 1945, Scott returned to the United States.Hilbert Thomas, 2010, pp. 67,76
Marriage and children
After returning to the United States, Scott met Beverly "Boots" Mae Jackson in January 1946 and they were married on May 12, 1946. Between December 1947 and April 1951 they had four children, a son and daughter and twin girls.Hilbert Thomas, 2010, p. 90
Glider flying In the mid-1950s, Scott and his wife took up archery . In 1956, as president of the Permian Basin Archery Club, Scott won the highest score of any instinctive archer in the National Field Archery Association’s Championship Tournament in San Antonio, Texas. His wife also developed into an expert archer in her own right, and they would eventually win the husband/wife team trophy in the state championships in Odessa in 1959 with Boots’ individual, second-place finish.Hilbert Thomas, 2010, p. 91
Archery was eventually put on hold when Scott began flying powered aircraft again. In March 1961, Scott took his first flight in a glider and within a few months he had purchased a new Schweizer SGS 1-26 sailplane.Hilbert Thomas, 2010, p. 96
Scott’s first record flight was an 8.5 hour, , dog-leg flight from Odessa, Texas to Clayton, New Mexico flown on August 6, 1963.Hilbert Thomas, 2010, p. 105 He placed 2nd in his first major soaring competition, the 31st Annual National Soaring Championships, which was held from June 29 to July 9, 1964 in McCook, Nebraska.Hilbert Thomas, 2010, p. 108
Scott purchased a variety of sailplanes over the next several decades, and competed in several national and World Gliding Championships in different glider competition classes.Hilbert Thomas, 2010, Appendix
Later life and death In the late 1990s Scott mostly flew locally until January 7, 1999, when he underwent surgery on his knee. The surgery would weaken both his body and spirit.Hilbert Thomas, 2010, p. 198 Scott was eventually diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and never flew again. On February 8, 2003, Scott died in Odessa, Texas, at the age of 78 after contracting pneumonia; he had flown nearly 7,000 hours and over 300,000 milesNote: Scott's flying totals in sailplanes: 6,624.25 hours and 303,142 miles flown in sailplanes during his life.
Awards and soaring records Year Received Award 1965 Inducted into Soaring Hall of Fame 1967 The Lewin B. Barringer Memorial Trophy: 1968 The Lewin B. Barringer Memorial Trophy: 1969 The Lewin B. Barringer Memorial Trophy: , Larissa Stroukoff Memorial Trophy 1970 The Lewin B. Barringer Memorial Trophy shared with Benjamin W. Greene: , Soaring Society of America Exceptional Achievement Award 1971 The Lewin B. Barringer Memorial Trophy: 1972 The Lewin B. Barringer Memorial Trophy: 1973 The Lewin B. Barringer Memorial Trophy: 1975 The Lewin B. Barringer Memorial Trophy: 1976 The Lewin B. Barringer Memorial Trophy: 1977 The Lewin B. Barringer Memorial Trophy: 1978 The Lewin B. Barringer Memorial Trophy: 1979 The Lewin B. Barringer Memorial Trophy: 1980 The Lewin B. Barringer Memorial Trophy: 1982 The Lewin B. Barringer Memorial Trophy shared with William H. Seed Jr.: , Barron Hilton Cup 1983 The Lewin B. Barringer Memorial Trophy: 1985 Barron Hilton Cup 1986 The Lewin B. Barringer Memorial Trophy: 1987 The Lewin B. Barringer Memorial Trophy: 1988 The Lewin B. Barringer Memorial Trophy: , SSA Exceptional Achievement Award 1989 The Lewin B. Barringer Memorial Trophy: 1990 The Lewin B. Barringer Memorial Trophy: 1993 The Lewin B. Barringer Memorial Trophy: . 2003 Joseph C. Lincoln Writing Award 2004 – Soaring Magazine 2003 reprint from 1982 of an article titled “The Preparation and Execution of Long-Distance Flights.” 2005 Inducted in Texas Aviation Hall of Fame
World soaring records National Aeronautic Association and Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) Awards:Hilbert Thomas, 2010, p. 214 Date Received Award July 23, 1964 FAI World Record - Straight Distance to a declared goal: Odessa, TX – Goodland, KS 837.75 km – Ka-6CR (N1304S), FAI record # 4406 July 12, 1965 10th FAI World Soaring Championship, South Cerney, England – 6th place overall August 22, 1969 FAI World Record – Straight Distance to a declared goal: Odessa, TX – Gila Bend, AZ. 974.04 km – ASW 12 (N134Z), FAI record # 4408 July 26, 1970 FAI World Record – Straight Distance Odessa, TX – Columbus, NE 1,153.821 km – ASW 12 (N4472), FAI record # 5409 August 3, 1970 FAI World Record – Out-and-Return, Odessa, TX – Pampa, TX and return 860.00 km – ASW 12 (N4472), FAI record # 5421 July 4, 1970 12th FAI World Gliding Championship, Marfa, TX., 9th place overall July 2, 1977 15-meter National Record, Odessa, TX – Primrose, NE, 716.31 miles / 1152.79 km July 11, 1980 15-meter Triangle Speed Record, Odessa, TX – Roswell, NM, Plain View, TX & return 750 km / 7hrs 27min / 65.84 mph August 31, 1985 545 mile Triangle – 15-meter record, Odessa, TX – Robert Lee, TX, Del Rio, TX Wink, TX 68 mph. Also qualified for Barron Hilton Cup winning flight
Articles authored 443.5 Miles by 1-26 N8606R, Soaring Magazine, October 1963 The Second 500, Soaring Magazine, November 1967 Marfa Report, circa 1970, self-published, a report on how to soar in the areas of southwest Texas, specifically around Marfa, TX Showdown Over Gila Bend, The account of his world record 605-mile goal distance flight, Soaring Magazine, January 1970 by Douglas Lamont The Big One, by Wallace Scott and Ben Greene, Soaring Magazine, February 1971 The 1976 Smirnoff Derby, Soaring Magazine, August 1976 The Preparation and Execution of Long-Distance Flights, Soaring Magazine, June 1982 Attack on Aconcagua, by Wallace Scott and Guido Haymann, Soaring Magazine, May/June 1986
References
Bibliography Hilbert Thomas, Samantha. WA-the life of soaring legend Wally Scott. BTLink Publishing, 2010 Soaring Magazine Archives, Soaring Society of America