Robert Nietzel Buck

Robert Nietzel Buck (born January 29, 1914 - April 14, 2007 ) broke the speed record for transcontinental flights in 1930, and he was the youngest pilot ever to get a pilot's license in the United States .

biography

He was the son of AC Buck and began taking flight lessons in a Kinner in 1930 at the age of 16 . After passing the exam, he received the license number 13478.

On October 4, 1930, Robert broke the transcontinental speed record for juniors in a PA-6 Pitcairn Mailwing named "Yankee Clipper". He needed a total of 23 hours and 47 minutes of pure flight time for the route. With junior records only the flight time counts, the ground time is not counted. 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 1937 he started working as a pilot for the TWA airline . In 1945 he became chief pilot. He pursued this profession until he retired in 1974 at the age of 60. He flew the first Lockheed Constellation for TWA in 1945 and in 1970 he flew the first Boeing 747 also for TWA. It was flight number 800 from New York City to Paris . In 1965 he flew with a few other pilots in a Boeing 707 from the South to the North Pole.

President Truman awarded him a merit stamp.

Captain Buck died on April 14, 2007 after a fall.

swell

personal data
SURNAME	Buck, Robert Nietzel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American pilot
DATE OF BIRTH	January 29, 1914
DATE OF DEATH	April 14, 2007