Wally Scott 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 4 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 . 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 . 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 . ” 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 cadet s in January 1944 and by March had left Fort Stockton and joined the Ferry Command branch of the Army Air Corps . World War II experiences . Scott was accepted to go to Randolph Field in San Antonio , Texas and to 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 . In August and September 1944 , Scott participated in several domestic evacuation flights , taking wounded soldiers from the Pacific coast to the eastern USA 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 . 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 from in both Curtiss - Wright C - 46 Commando s and C - 47 aircraft . With the war over , on December 16 , 1945 , Scott returned to the United States . Marriage and children . After returning to the USA , 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 . 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 . 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 . Scott ’ s first record flight was an 8 . 5 hour , , dog - leg flight from Odessa , Texas to near Clayton , New Mexico flown on August 6 , 1963 . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 miles in sailplanes during his life . World soaring records . National Aeronautic Association and Fédération Aéronautique Internationale ( FAI ) Awards :