May 23, 2007
Aviation Expert, Author Robert N. Buck Passes Away

By Chad Trautvetter, Editor in Chief

Aviation weather and safety consultant/author and retired TWA captain
Robert N. Buck, 93, recently passed away in Berlin, Vt. He started
flying at age 15 and set a New York to Los Angeles speed record before
reaching his 16th birthday. By his 20th birthday, he broke an altitude
record for light airplanes and became the first person to take aerial
photographs of ancient ruins of the Yucatán. Buck had flown the
Atlantic more than 2,000 times during his airline career with TWA. He
was also a consultant to four FAA Administrators and airlines on many
aspects of aviation safety, and was the author of "The Art of Flying,"
"Flying Know-How" and "Weather Flying." Buck continued to fly a
Schleicher ASW-20 sailplane well into his 80s. [more] Pilots revere
his books because they are easy to read and engaging, even though they
cover complex subjects. In "Weather Flying," Buck succinctly starts,
"Weather bothers our flying in a few basic ways. It prevents us from
seeing; it bounces us around to the extent that it may be difficult to
keep the airplane under control and in one piece; and ice, wind, or
large temperature variations may reduce the airplane's performance to
a serious degree. That's what weather does...we fight weather in order
to see, to keep our aircraft under control, and to get the best and
safest performance from an aircraft. The question is, 'How?'"