Robert N. Buck, a retired senior jet captain of TWA, flew the Atlantic more than 2,000 times. In 1930 at the age of 16, he flew solo across the United States, breaking the junior transcontinental speed record. During World War II he was engaged in weather research for the U.S. Air Corps, flying a B-17 and a Black Widow, P-61; for this, as a civilian, he was awarded the Air Medal by President Harry Truman. He began his airline career flying the Douglas DC-2 and ended with the Boeing 747. He served as TWA’s chief pilot, was director of thunderstorm research, and flew over 2000 Atlantic crossings.