Burial of Albert Elliott Merrill and his first wife, Lenora, are unknown at this time. His second wife, Mildred, is recorded as buried at Acacia Cemetery.
Seattle Times, The (WA) - Wednesday, April 8, 1992
ALBERT ELLIOTT MERRILL, 90, TEST PILOT WITH A SPECIAL REGARD FOR PEOPLE
The sky was Albert Elliott Merrill's turf, and flight was a passion of nearly a century.
As a Boeing Co. test pilot of 23 years, Mr. Merrill pioneered high-altitude testing and christened Boeing Field with its first landing.
He logged more than 20,000 takeoffs and landings on that airfield.
Mr. Merrill, 90, died last Wednesday in the Kenney Presbyterian Home.
His aviation career spanned more than 40 years, and included testing bombers during World War II.
In 1928, Mr. Merrill and a friend started the Washington Aircraft and Transportation Co., which became the largest flight school in the Northwest. Friends remember Mr. Merrill as a considerate man and meticulous pilot.
In 1941, Mr. Merrill became a Boeing test pilot. He flew the first flights of the XPBB-1 Sea Ranger, a Navy patrol bomber, and the XC-97, an Army transport and cargo plane. He also conducted high-altitude testing of the B-17, and early testing of the 314 Clipper flying boat, the DB-7B attack bomber, the XB-29 and the B-47 Strato-Jet bomber.
Clayton Scott, a close friend and test pilot for 25 years, said Mr. Merrill would, even in crisis situations, put others ahead of himself.
While he was testing a B-17 Flying Fortress, there was a malfunction during Mr. Merrill's roller-coaster climbs and dives, Scott said.
Mr. Merrill and a radio technician were about to parachute from the craft at the same time, Scott said. Mr. Merrill gestured grandly for the technician to jump first.
"It showed his consideration, even at a time like that," Scott said.
That flight, during which six crew members parachuted safely, won Mr. Merrill special recognition in 1943.
"He went about his work very methodically," Scott said.
"He always made sure every little thing on the plane was right."
In 1945, Mr. Merrill made the fastest flight from Seattle to Washington, D.C., in Boeing's newest baby, the XC-97 Stratocruiser.
The flight lasted six hours, three minutes.
During World War II, he tested B-29s in Guam and Saipan for the U.S. Air Force. In 1945, he won the Octave Chanute Award for "obtaining at great personal hazard data contributing to the design of high-altitude military aircraft."
After the war, he became Boeing's chief of flight tests in Seattle and continued projects on the B-50, the XC0-7, the C-97 cargo plane, the KC-97 cargo and tanker plane, and the 727 tri-jet.
He was chairman of the Washington State Aeronautics Commission from 1947 to 1952, when he was appointed chief of flight testing on the Wichita, Kan., B-47 program. In 1956, he became assistant director of military requirements at Boeing's Airplane Division. He retired in 1964.
Mr. Merrill was a longtime Seattle resident. A graduate of the old Broadway High School, he earned an engineering degree from the University of Washington in 1926. He completed two years of Reserve Officer Training Corps, and after graduation became a second lieutenant in the Army Air Service Reserve in Texas.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Mildred Merrill. The couple had no children. Survivors include nephews Bob Clampett, Seattle, and Bruce Clampett, Port Angeles. Funeral arrangements are pending.
Seattle Times, The (WA) - Wednesday, April 8, 1992
ALBERT ELLIOTT MERRILL, 90, TEST PILOT WITH A SPECIAL REGARD FOR PEOPLE
The sky was Albert Elliott Merrill's turf, and flight was a passion of nearly a century.
As a Boeing Co. test pilot of 23 years, Mr. Merrill pioneered high-altitude testing and christened Boeing Field with its first landing.
He logged more than 20,000 takeoffs and landings on that airfield.
Mr. Merrill, 90, died last Wednesday in the Kenney Presbyterian Home.
His aviation career spanned more than 40 years, and included testing bombers during World War II.
In 1928, Mr. Merrill and a friend started the Washington Aircraft and Transportation Co., which became the largest flight school in the Northwest. Friends remember Mr. Merrill as a considerate man and meticulous pilot.
In 1941, Mr. Merrill became a Boeing test pilot. He flew the first flights of the XPBB-1 Sea Ranger, a Navy patrol bomber, and the XC-97, an Army transport and cargo plane. He also conducted high-altitude testing of the B-17, and early testing of the 314 Clipper flying boat, the DB-7B attack bomber, the XB-29 and the B-47 Strato-Jet bomber.
Clayton Scott, a close friend and test pilot for 25 years, said Mr. Merrill would, even in crisis situations, put others ahead of himself.
While he was testing a B-17 Flying Fortress, there was a malfunction during Mr. Merrill's roller-coaster climbs and dives, Scott said.
Mr. Merrill and a radio technician were about to parachute from the craft at the same time, Scott said. Mr. Merrill gestured grandly for the technician to jump first.
"It showed his consideration, even at a time like that," Scott said.
That flight, during which six crew members parachuted safely, won Mr. Merrill special recognition in 1943.
"He went about his work very methodically," Scott said.
"He always made sure every little thing on the plane was right."
In 1945, Mr. Merrill made the fastest flight from Seattle to Washington, D.C., in Boeing's newest baby, the XC-97 Stratocruiser.
The flight lasted six hours, three minutes.
During World War II, he tested B-29s in Guam and Saipan for the U.S. Air Force. In 1945, he won the Octave Chanute Award for "obtaining at great personal hazard data contributing to the design of high-altitude military aircraft."
After the war, he became Boeing's chief of flight tests in Seattle and continued projects on the B-50, the XC0-7, the C-97 cargo plane, the KC-97 cargo and tanker plane, and the 727 tri-jet.
He was chairman of the Washington State Aeronautics Commission from 1947 to 1952, when he was appointed chief of flight testing on the Wichita, Kan., B-47 program. In 1956, he became assistant director of military requirements at Boeing's Airplane Division. He retired in 1964.
Mr. Merrill was a longtime Seattle resident. A graduate of the old Broadway High School, he earned an engineering degree from the University of Washington in 1926. He completed two years of Reserve Officer Training Corps, and after graduation became a second lieutenant in the Army Air Service Reserve in Texas.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Mildred Merrill. The couple had no children. Survivors include nephews Bob Clampett, Seattle, and Bruce Clampett, Port Angeles. Funeral arrangements are pending.
Burial of Albert Elliott Merrill and his first wife, Lenora, are unknown at this time. His second wife, Mildred, is recorded as buried at Acacia Cemetery.
Seattle Times, The (WA) - Wednesday, April 8, 1992
ALBERT ELLIOTT MERRILL, 90, TEST PILOT WITH A SPECIAL REGARD FOR PEOPLE
The sky was Albert Elliott Merrill's turf, and flight was a passion of nearly a century.
As a Boeing Co. test pilot of 23 years, Mr. Merrill pioneered high-altitude testing and christened Boeing Field with its first landing.
He logged more than 20,000 takeoffs and landings on that airfield.
Mr. Merrill, 90, died last Wednesday in the Kenney Presbyterian Home.
His aviation career spanned more than 40 years, and included testing bombers during World War II.
In 1928, Mr. Merrill and a friend started the Washington Aircraft and Transportation Co., which became the largest flight school in the Northwest. Friends remember Mr. Merrill as a considerate man and meticulous pilot.
In 1941, Mr. Merrill became a Boeing test pilot. He flew the first flights of the XPBB-1 Sea Ranger, a Navy patrol bomber, and the XC-97, an Army transport and cargo plane. He also conducted high-altitude testing of the B-17, and early testing of the 314 Clipper flying boat, the DB-7B attack bomber, the XB-29 and the B-47 Strato-Jet bomber.
Clayton Scott, a close friend and test pilot for 25 years, said Mr. Merrill would, even in crisis situations, put others ahead of himself.
While he was testing a B-17 Flying Fortress, there was a malfunction during Mr. Merrill's roller-coaster climbs and dives, Scott said.
Mr. Merrill and a radio technician were about to parachute from the craft at the same time, Scott said. Mr. Merrill gestured grandly for the technician to jump first.
"It showed his consideration, even at a time like that," Scott said.
That flight, during which six crew members parachuted safely, won Mr. Merrill special recognition in 1943.
"He went about his work very methodically," Scott said.
"He always made sure every little thing on the plane was right."
In 1945, Mr. Merrill made the fastest flight from Seattle to Washington, D.C., in Boeing's newest baby, the XC-97 Stratocruiser.
The flight lasted six hours, three minutes.
During World War II, he tested B-29s in Guam and Saipan for the U.S. Air Force. In 1945, he won the Octave Chanute Award for "obtaining at great personal hazard data contributing to the design of high-altitude military aircraft."
After the war, he became Boeing's chief of flight tests in Seattle and continued projects on the B-50, the XC0-7, the C-97 cargo plane, the KC-97 cargo and tanker plane, and the 727 tri-jet.
He was chairman of the Washington State Aeronautics Commission from 1947 to 1952, when he was appointed chief of flight testing on the Wichita, Kan., B-47 program. In 1956, he became assistant director of military requirements at Boeing's Airplane Division. He retired in 1964.
Mr. Merrill was a longtime Seattle resident. A graduate of the old Broadway High School, he earned an engineering degree from the University of Washington in 1926. He completed two years of Reserve Officer Training Corps, and after graduation became a second lieutenant in the Army Air Service Reserve in Texas.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Mildred Merrill. The couple had no children. Survivors include nephews Bob Clampett, Seattle, and Bruce Clampett, Port Angeles. Funeral arrangements are pending.
Seattle Times, The (WA) - Wednesday, April 8, 1992
ALBERT ELLIOTT MERRILL, 90, TEST PILOT WITH A SPECIAL REGARD FOR PEOPLE
The sky was Albert Elliott Merrill's turf, and flight was a passion of nearly a century.
As a Boeing Co. test pilot of 23 years, Mr. Merrill pioneered high-altitude testing and christened Boeing Field with its first landing.
He logged more than 20,000 takeoffs and landings on that airfield.
Mr. Merrill, 90, died last Wednesday in the Kenney Presbyterian Home.
His aviation career spanned more than 40 years, and included testing bombers during World War II.
In 1928, Mr. Merrill and a friend started the Washington Aircraft and Transportation Co., which became the largest flight school in the Northwest. Friends remember Mr. Merrill as a considerate man and meticulous pilot.
In 1941, Mr. Merrill became a Boeing test pilot. He flew the first flights of the XPBB-1 Sea Ranger, a Navy patrol bomber, and the XC-97, an Army transport and cargo plane. He also conducted high-altitude testing of the B-17, and early testing of the 314 Clipper flying boat, the DB-7B attack bomber, the XB-29 and the B-47 Strato-Jet bomber.
Clayton Scott, a close friend and test pilot for 25 years, said Mr. Merrill would, even in crisis situations, put others ahead of himself.
While he was testing a B-17 Flying Fortress, there was a malfunction during Mr. Merrill's roller-coaster climbs and dives, Scott said.
Mr. Merrill and a radio technician were about to parachute from the craft at the same time, Scott said. Mr. Merrill gestured grandly for the technician to jump first.
"It showed his consideration, even at a time like that," Scott said.
That flight, during which six crew members parachuted safely, won Mr. Merrill special recognition in 1943.
"He went about his work very methodically," Scott said.
"He always made sure every little thing on the plane was right."
In 1945, Mr. Merrill made the fastest flight from Seattle to Washington, D.C., in Boeing's newest baby, the XC-97 Stratocruiser.
The flight lasted six hours, three minutes.
During World War II, he tested B-29s in Guam and Saipan for the U.S. Air Force. In 1945, he won the Octave Chanute Award for "obtaining at great personal hazard data contributing to the design of high-altitude military aircraft."
After the war, he became Boeing's chief of flight tests in Seattle and continued projects on the B-50, the XC0-7, the C-97 cargo plane, the KC-97 cargo and tanker plane, and the 727 tri-jet.
He was chairman of the Washington State Aeronautics Commission from 1947 to 1952, when he was appointed chief of flight testing on the Wichita, Kan., B-47 program. In 1956, he became assistant director of military requirements at Boeing's Airplane Division. He retired in 1964.
Mr. Merrill was a longtime Seattle resident. A graduate of the old Broadway High School, he earned an engineering degree from the University of Washington in 1926. He completed two years of Reserve Officer Training Corps, and after graduation became a second lieutenant in the Army Air Service Reserve in Texas.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Mildred Merrill. The couple had no children. Survivors include nephews Bob Clampett, Seattle, and Bruce Clampett, Port Angeles. Funeral arrangements are pending.
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