George Herbert Scott was born in 1888 and grew up during the golden age of flight. During his lifetime, there were several huge milestones for the aviation industry. The Wright brothers created and flew the very first heavier-than-air vehicle in 1903 and aircraft began to develop very quickly after that (especially during World War I--1914 to 1918).
George Herbert Scott
Working airplanes did not exist when Scott was born - they hadn't been invented yet. By the time he died, not only were there airplanes, but they could fly across oceans non-stop. They could carry cargo (and people!) and fly as high as 28,000 ft. Airplanes became less dangerous and more useful for a variety of purposes. In fact, during Scott's lifetime the first passenger-only airline service began.
So, when George Scott became an airship pilot, he was one of the first few men in this new field. (An airship is also called a zeppelin or a dirigible. A famous airship today is the Goodyear Blimp that flies over football games).
Science/History Break
There are three different kinds of airships: rigid, semi-rigid, and non-rigid. Every airship is basically a bag of lighter-than-air gas connected to a pod that holds the people. The gas that was typically used in Scott's time was hydrogen because it was very common and pretty cheap. The problem is that hydrogen is also pretty flammable. (That's one of the reasons that the Hindenburg zeppelin accident was so bad.) Now, we use helium because it's not flammable. The problem is that we're running out of helium and it's not really practical to make more.
So, back to the kinds of airships. The bag of gas can be built in different ways. It could just be a bag of gas--think about a regular balloon that you might see at a birthday party. The balloon has a shape but the shape comes from the latex that the balloon is made of. Same thing with a non-rigid airship. It's just a bag of gas. (The Goodyear Blimp is a non-rigid airship.)
A semi-rigid airship has some sort of internal structure that helps to provide a shape. Basically, the balloon has a skeleton.
A rigid airship (also known as a zeppelin) has a much more well-defined structure for the bag of gas. There are a lot of advantages to having a rigid structure: the zeppelin can be a lot bigger than non-rigid airships and it can also carry a lot more weight. In a rigid airship, the bag of gas is also different. Instead of being one giant bag of gas, there are several small bags connected to each other. This also helps to make the airships sturdier.
A rigid airship being constructed. Notice that it's got a very structured frame.
George Herbert Scott's Contribution
In 1919, George Scott became the third person to fly across the Atlantic Ocean non-stop. He was the commander of the rigid airship, the R34, that made the 2nd trans-Atlantic crossing. (The two men who crossed the Atlantic before him were on the same plane).
Scott's flight on the R34 was also the first round-trip flight across the Atlantic, the first time flying east to west across the Atlantic, and the first airship to make a trans-Atlantic flight.
His airship took off from Scotland and, 108 hours later, landed in New York. Four days later, Scott and his airship left New York and headed back for Europe, this time taking only 75 hours.
The R34 landing in New York after its trans-Atlantic crossing in 1919.
Thanks to Wikipedia for the pictures and some of the information.