Editing David Scott (section)

==Air Force pilot==
Scott did six months of primary pilot training at [[Marana Air Base]] in Arizona, beginning there in July 1954.{{sfn|Scott & Leonov|p=26}} He completed [[Undergraduate Pilot Training]] at [[Webb Air Force Base]], Texas, in 1955, then went through gunnery training at [[Laughlin Air Force Base]], Texas, and [[Luke Air Force Base]], Arizona.<ref name="nasabio">{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/scott_david.pdf|title=Astronaut Bio: David R. Scott (Colonel, USAF, Ret.)|publisher=NASA JSC|access-date=February 13, 2019|archive-date=April 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402021057/https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/scott_david.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

From April 1956 to July 1960, Scott flew with the [[32nd Air Operations Squadron#United States Air Forces in Europe|32nd Tactical Fighter Squadron]] at [[Soesterberg Air Base]], Netherlands, flying [[North American F-86 Sabre|F-86 Sabres]] and [[North American F-100 Super Sabre|F-100 Super Sabres]].<ref name="nasabio" /> The weather there was often poor, and Scott's piloting skills were tested.{{sfn|Scott & Leonov|p=28}} Once, he had to land his plane on a golf course after a [[flameout]]. On another, he barely made it to a Dutch base on the edge of the [[North Sea]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Man in the news: David Randolph Scott|date=March 4, 1969|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/03/04/archives/david-randolph-scott.html|page=15|access-date=February 13, 2019|archive-date=February 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214061751/https://www.nytimes.com/1969/03/04/archives/david-randolph-scott.html|url-status=live}}{{subscription required}}</ref> Scott served in Europe during the [[Cold War]] and tensions were often high between the U.S. and Soviet Union. During the [[Hungarian Revolution of 1956]], his squadron was placed on the highest alert for weeks but was stood down without going into combat.{{sfn|Scott & Leonov|pp=32–34}}

Scott hoped to advance his career by becoming a [[test pilot]], to be trained at [[Edwards Air Force Base]]. He was counseled that the best way to get into test pilot school was to gain a graduate degree in [[aeronautics]]. Accordingly, he applied to the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (MIT) and was accepted.{{sfn|Scott & Leonov|pp=49–50}} He received both a [[Master of Science]] degree in Aeronautics/Astronautics and the degree of [[Engineer's degree|Engineer in Aeronautics/Astronautics]] (the E.A.A. degree) from MIT in 1962.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/apollo-tt0603.html|title=To the moon, by way of MIT|publisher=[[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]]|date=June 3, 2009|access-date=February 13, 2019|archive-date=December 31, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231000622/http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/apollo-tt0603.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

After receiving these degrees, Scott was stunned to receive orders from the Air Force to report to the new [[Air Force Academy]] as a professor, rather than to test pilot school. Although challenging orders was strongly discouraged, Scott went to [[the Pentagon]] and found a sympathetic ear from a colonel. Scott received changed orders to report to Edwards.{{sfn|Scott & Leonov|pp=63–65}}

Scott reported to the [[U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School|Air Force Experimental Flight Test Pilot School]] at Edwards in July 1962. The commandant of the school was [[Chuck Yeager]], the first person to break the sound barrier, whom Scott idolized; Scott got to fly several times with him. Scott graduated top pilot in his class. He was selected for the [[Aerospace Research Pilot School]], also at Edwards, where those intended as Air Force astronauts were trained. There he learned how to control aircraft, such as the [[Lockheed NF-104A]], at altitudes of up to {{convert|100000|ft}}.{{sfn|Scott & Leonov|pp=49–50, 69–75}}{{sfn|French & Burgess|p=79}}