North star over my shoulder : a flying life / Bob Buck.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Buck, Robert N., 1914-2007.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Buck, Robert N., 1914-2007.

Buck, Robert N.

Air pilots--United States--Biography.

Air pilots.

United States.

Airplanes--Piloting.

Airplanes.

Genre:

Biographies.

Autobiographies.

Physical Description:

446 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Simon & Schuster, [2002]

Summary:

It is rare to find one person whose life embodies the history of an industry the way Bob Buck's life encompasses the history of commercial aviation in America. Buck first flew in the 1920s, inspired by the exploits of Charles Lindbergh. In 1930, at age sixteen, he flew solo from coast to coast, breaking the junior transcontinental speed record. In 1936 he flew nonstop from Burbank, California, to Columbus, Ohio, in a 90-horsepower Monocoupe to establish a world distance record for light airplanes. He joined Transcontinental and Western Air (T&WA) as a copilot in 1937; when he retired thirty-seven years later, he had made more than 2,000 Atlantic crossings -- and his role had progressed from such tasks as retracting a DC-2's landing gear with a cockpit-based hand pump to command of a wide-body 747.

Buck's experiences go back to a time when flying was something glamorous. He flew with and learned from some true pioneers of aviation -- the courageous pilots who created the airmail service during flying's infancy. At the behest of his employer Howard Hughes, Buck spent three months flying with Tyrone Power on a trip to South America, Africa, and Europe. He flew the New York -- Paris -- Cairo route in the days when flight plans called for lengthy stopovers, and enjoyed all that those romantic places had to offer. He took part in a flight that circled the globe sideways (from pole to pole). He advised TWA's president on the shift to jet planes; a world expert on weather and flight, Buck used a B-17G to chase thunderstorms worldwide as part of a TWA -- Air Force research project during World War II, for which he was awarded the Air Medal (as a civilian) by President Truman.

In North Star over My Shoulder, Bob Buck tells of a life spent up and over the clouds, and of the wonderful places and marvelous people who have been a part of that life. He captures the feel, taste, and smell of flying's greatest era -- how the people lived, what they did and felt, and what it was really like to be a part of the world as it grew smaller and smaller. He relates stories from his innumerable visits to Paris, the city he loves more than any other -- echoing Gertrude Stein's view that "America is my country, and Paris is my home town" -- and from his trips to the Middle East, including flights to Israel before and after it became a state. A terrific storyteller and a fascinating man, Bob Buck has turned his well-lived life into a delightful memoir for anyone who remembers when there really was something special in the air.

Contents:

1. Night Flight 13

2. Hooked 41

3. Records 51

4. Co-Education 68

5. Apprentice Time 91

6. Early Airplanes and How We Flew Them 105

7. Way Out West 126

8. Copilot Days and Nights 146

9. Checkout 160

10. Captain Buck 172

11. The Battle of Presque Isle 184

12. Intercontinental 194

13. Across the North Atlantic 207

14. Two Kind Words 222

15. Flights of Fancy with a Purpose 237

16. Distractions and Adventure 245

17. Chief 257

18. Around the World 269

19. A Brief Debriefing 284

20. Chance of a Lifetime 290

21. Back on the Line 316

22. Paris and Beyond 325

23. A Summons from Howard Hughes 346

24. Farewell to Propellers and All That Drove Them 360

25. 707 Days 379

26. SST or Not SST 391

27. Home, and Above 399

28. Around the World

Upside Down 405

29. Grand Dame 416

30. Fin 427.

Notes:

Includes index.

ISBN:

0743219643 :

OCLC:

49390705