Tuskegee Airman Lee Archer At Gathering Of Mustangs, Ohio 2007
In 2007 I had the high honour of meeting briefly with retired Lt. Colonel Lee Archer at an airshow in the United States. Lee Archer is one of the original Tuskegee Airmen – the first black US combat pilots who flew in World War II. That was my second meeting with Lt. Colonel Archer. The first happened some ten years earlier at the world’s largest fly-in in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
For all my enthusiasm about aviation and aviation history, until I read a story yesterday at Ian Bourne’s blog (The Bajan Reporter), I never knew that one of the Tuskegee Airmen was from Barbados. Colonel Fitzroy “Buck” Newsum was born in Barbados and at the age of ten saw his first airplane and decided that he was going to be a pilot.
Ian has the full story at his blog and the big story which is that the remaining Tuskegee Airmen have been invited by Barack Obama to witness the Inauguration of the first black President of the United States of America.
A Special Treat For All Those Aviation Enthusiasts Out There
When I write these aviation articles for Barbados Free Press, I have to be ever so careful to avoid giving too many details because it wouldn’t do to have anyone identify one of the editors of this blog. I may be taking a little chance with the following, but looking back at who was with me at the time and the ten years or so that have passed since I had a need for this item – I think I’m alright to share this with you.
Besides, there is a part of me that wants to twist the nose of some of the folks who are desperate to know who writes Barbados Free Press.
So here you go folks. I’d wager everything I own that there is not another pilot on this island besides yours truly who has ever had a need for the following item – that still resides in my old flightbag. I was privileged to have actually used this item a few times during the summer of 1997. Click on the thumbnails to see the full-size photos…
Robert
5 Comments
January 4, 2009 at 6:04 am
Just Wednesday I met a gentleman in a Whole Foods Market here in Phoenix,AZ who flew with the Airmen, not in battle but had the chance to fly with them because as a boy he too wanted to fly planes also. —— One of the airmen is actually Bajan born,what a good piece of history. ————- Bajans everywhere.
January 4, 2009 at 8:46 am
Robert if you don’t mind me asking how did you get to fly a rare bird like the B-17? Where you the pilot in charge?
January 5, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Their command was so successful that they never lost a bomber that they were escorting.Towards the end of the campaign in N.Africa, bomber crews were actually requesting their escort on missions.
January 6, 2009 at 7:40 pm
Chicago, I didn’t fly the B-17, I merely meet a guy who said he flew in the bird. The only plane I could fly is a paper plane. I just met the guy in a Whole Foods and we started talking. I’m still pretty young at 51, so I can’t take the credit.
January 10, 2009 at 8:08 pm
Hello Chicago.
Although I was in the left seat I was not the command pilot until the last day of my “check ride”. These days having a B17 type-rating is largely a matter of interest to say you have done it because no one will loan or rent a B17 and real jobs flying the B17 are few and far between.
I went through a B17 type-check programme that was offered at the time to assist with expenses on a flying museum’s B17.
My DC3 time helped in a big way and I found that the fort was surprisingly much easier to taxi than the DC3. The DC3 has a larger deck angle when on the ground. Plus the B17’s number one and four engines are further outboard and that gives you more differential thrust control compared with the engines on the DC3.