1. Aviators and Astronauts
April 9, 1924 – September 27, 1956
Graduated in 1942 from Buffalo High School, Kansas. All Buffalo sports teams are called “Jets” in honor of Mel.
Received a B.S. degree in science engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology.
Rescued a fellow pilot while acting as his chase pilot on an ill-fated test flight. Mel audaciously crash-landed next to the downed plane to save time, then smashed the canopy open in order to pull the unconscious pilot to safety.
First to fly faster than Mach 3, but died during the same flight when the X-2 research aircraft he was flying encountered wing-negating inertial coupling and became uncontrollable and crashed.
Capt. Milburn “Mel” Apt
U.S. AIR FORCE
TEST PILOT
The X-2 Starbuster