Robert Nietzel Buck (January 29, 1914 – April 14, 2007) broke the junior
transcontinental air speed record
Transcontinental may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* "Transcontinental", a song by the band Pedro the Lion from the album ''Achilles Heel''
* TC Transcontinental, a publishing, media and marketing company based in Canada, a subsidiary ...
in 1930 and for a time was the youngest licensed pilot in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.
Early life
He was born in
Elizabeth, New Jersey
Elizabeth is a City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.
In 1930 at age 16 he took lessons in a
Fleet Aircraft
Fleet Aircraft was a Canadian manufacturer of aircraft from 1928 to 1957.
In 1928, the board of Consolidated Aircraft
The Consolidated Aircraft Corporation was founded in 1923 in aviation, 1923 by Reuben H. Fleet in Buffalo, New York, the res ...
using a
Kinner
Kinner Airplane & Motor Corp was an airplane and engine manufacturer, founded, in the mid-1920s, in Glendale, California, United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country pr ...
engine. He received the
United States Department of Commerce
The United States Department of Commerce (DOC) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for gathering data for business and governmental decision making, establishing industrial standards, catalyzing econ ...
Eddie August Schneider
Eddie August Henry Schneider (October 20, 1911 – December 23, 1940) was an American aviator who set three transcontinental airspeed records for pilots under the age of twenty-one in 1930. His plane was a Cessna Model AW with a Warner-Sc ...
in his PA-6
Pitcairn Mailwing
The Pitcairn Mailwing family is a series of American mail carrier and three-seat sport utility biplane aircraft produced from 1927 to 1931.
Design and development
The Pitcairn Mailwings were developed to carry air mail for the United States Po ...
he named "Yankee Clipper". His time was 23 hours and 47 minutes of elapsed flying time. The junior record only counts time in the air and excludes time spent on the ground. Robert said on February 6, 2005: "I was the youngest to fly coast to coast and that record still stands. I had my license at 16 and after that, they raised the minimum age to 17. With that change no one could break my record."
In December 1933, he flew to the Yucatan with Bob Nixon. As part of that trip, they stopped in Los Angeles and spoke at a meeting of
Alpha Eta Rho
Alpha Eta Rho () is a coed international Professional fraternities and sororities, professional college aviation Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity. Established in 1929 at the University of Southern California, it was the fi ...
, an aviation fraternity. They also participated in a cattle round up in Santa Rose, New Mexico.
Career
In 1937 he began flying for
TWA
The Twa, often referred to as Batwa or Mutwa (singular), are indigenous hunter-gatherer peoples of the Great Lakes Region in Central Africa, recognized as some of the earliest inhabitants of the area. Historically and academically, the term †...
. Buck became a Captain in 1940, then was promoted to TWA's chief pilot in 1945. In September 1957, Buck piloted the first nonstop flight from Los Angeles to London, flying the long-range Lockheed L-1649 Starliner. The following year, he wrote an extensive description of the flight published by ''Air Facts'' magazine.
In 1965, he flew around the world from pole to pole in a
Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is an early American long-range Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, the initial first flew on Decembe ...
. This was done with several other pilots in shifts. In 1970, he flew TWA's first
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a long-range wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023.
After the introduction of the Boeing 707, 707 in October 1958, Pan Am ...
on Flight 800 from
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
Buck married Jean Pearsall in 1938. He retired from
TWA
The Twa, often referred to as Batwa or Mutwa (singular), are indigenous hunter-gatherer peoples of the Great Lakes Region in Central Africa, recognized as some of the earliest inhabitants of the area. Historically and academically, the term †...
at age 60 on January 28, 1974 and moved to Vermont, where he wrote ''Flying Know-How'', ''Art of Flying'', and ''Pilot's Burden''.
He died on April 14, 2007, in
Berlin, Vermont
Berlin ( ) is a town in Washington County, Vermont, United States, founded in 1763.
The population was 2,849 at the 2020 census. Being the town between Barre and Montpelier, the two largest cities in the region, much of the commercial busines ...
, after complications from an accidental fall.
Legacy
He was inducted into the
Aviation Hall of Fame of New Jersey
The Aviation Hall of Fame & Museum of New Jersey was founded in 1972 and preserves New Jersey's aviation and space heritage. The museum displays historic aircraft, space equipment, artifacts, photographs, art and an aircraft model collection. The ...
Times Argus
The ''Barre Montpelier Times Argus'' is a daily newspaper serving the capital region of Vermont. The circulation area includes Washington, Orange, Lamoille, Addison, Caledonia, and parts of Chittenden, Franklin, Orleans and Windsor counti ...