Bob Rich's Guest Book at -http://www.mem.com/ViewTextTributes.aspx?ID=3018538 Message by Ernie Van Winkle I was a dispatcher at Frontier Airlines and in short Bob was just a great guy, a great pilot & great to be around! I do not remember of any incident or trouble he ever had when flying. He just came to the airport and flew without any fanfare. He was also one great wit. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Message by Billy & Cheryl Walker Bob was one of the most respected of the Frontier pilots. He was such a pleasant fellow along with being a fine aviator. He left us with some wonderful memories. We know Bob will enjoy smooth air, warm-soft tailwinds, and a bright star to steer by on his Flight West... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Message by Jake Lamkins Tex Searle told lots of stories about Bob in his book, Golden Age Of Flying. An example: Blind Landing Retired Captain Bob Rich says that society as a whole will be unable to relate to the conditions of that era, and is aware that stories told by us old airmail pilots will sound like embellished ludicrous allegations. However, he says, “They are true.” I can vividly recall departing Grand Junction, Colorado on a night flight to Salt Lake City, in a very marginal weather situation. It was shortly before Christmas in the fifties. A front had developed northwest of Salt Lake City. The forecast didn’t show it as a serious threat to our route of flight. If we stayed on the ground every time they forecast a weather disturbance, we would never accomplish much in the transportation of passengers and goods. Flying the high mountains with their varied weather patterns was a condition that Frontier pilots wrestled with daily. First Officer Richard Ure, and I opined that weather conditions and the forecast offered a successful completion of this journey. The weather at the Salt Lake air terminal was adequate for dispatch. We therefore enplaned passengers and departed. En route, unbeknownst to us (the information wasn’t relayed) the front accelerated and we penetrated it in the vicinity of the Duchesne, Utah, H-marker beacon. Our relatively benign winds aloft suddenly increased to an extremely strong head wind (later determined to be in excess of 100 mph). Grand Junction, (our alternate) went below minimums. Vernal, Utah was down so we were committed to Salt Lake City. We were enjoying head winds, prop and wing ice to a degree much more than we had anticipated, and our ground speed had deteriorated to less than 100 mph. Salt Lake weather in the interim had gone to zero ceiling and zero visibility with heavy snow. Hoping for improved weather in Salt Lake, we continued on. Fuel reserve was a very important consideration at this point in time and we were aware that we probably would have one shot and one shot only at Salt Lake City. We departed the Spanish Fork H-marker en route to intercept the localizer of the instrument landing system at the fan marker. Ordinarily it required approximately 11 minutes to accomplish this transition. After approximately twenty minutes we intersected the localizer at the marker. It was obvious that we were involved in a situation that was extremely fretful. Because of this low altitude jet stream, we were very conscious of the fact that our aircraft was running very low on fuel on our approach to the Salt Lake Airport. With the weather at the Ogden, Utah airport reporting zero/zero conditions, Rock Springs, Wyoming was our new paper ‘alternate.’ The remaining fuel would not sustain us to Rock Springs. We elected to continue the approach. The Salt Lake tower advised that the weather was zero/zero. I implored the tower operator to give us minimums on the weather so we could legally attempt an approach. He stated that in his opinion, bless his heart, the ceiling was 200 feet and visibility was one-half mile. This enabled us to shoot the approach without a lot of paper work. Established on the glide path of the ILS (instrument landing system), I moved up and down gingerly to convince myself that the facility was operating properly. At 500 feet I requested that First Officer Ure monitor our approach as far as any possible visual reference was concerned. At minimums (200 feet above the surface), he stated, “Automobile headlights seemed to have passed beneath us.” Without ever seeing the runway we contacted the surface on about four inches of powdery snow, probably my best landing ever. Dick Ure yelled, “If you were a girl, I’d kiss Approximately twenty minutes later, in poor visibility caused by fog and heavy snow, we found the old east terminal. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Message by Jack Gibson, a grateful apprentice Captain Bob Rich.......a great mentor, a great pilot, a true professional......I learned so much from you. Thanks for helping me get a passing grade in "Airline Captain 101". God speed and when you pass over Vegas, West bound......... don't forget to tell'em about the Palomino Club! Jack -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Message by Susan Patton To the Family of Robert Rich: There is no doubt mind of anyone that knows Robert Rich's only son, Patrick H. Rich, Mr. Rich was special. Mr. Rich was greatly loved by his son. Fine tales and laugh's about a great man, who leaves an incredible legacy of love and honour live on in the Patrick's friends' hearts. Mr. Rich's memories, exploits and true abiding love of family will be fondly remembered in Florida and Louisiana. Sandra T. Patton and I are deeply sorry for the families loss. We are also grateful for the fine man that Mr. Rich left behind. Patrick is loved and loved his Dad. Sincerely, Susan Patton -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Message by Craig Robert Rich I never really knew my grandpa's brother. He always lived so far away from his original home here in Holland, MI. He gave me my middle name, though. ;-) I do know my grandpa loved and cherished his little brother. Godspeed Robert Rich! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Message by Heather Sipos (Rich) Oh Grandpa how I miss you so. You were the joy in my life and will always remain in my heart. I will miss our hourly talks and our time in the convertible bug going places. You were not just my grandpa but like a father to me. May you forever live with much peace and happiness. I will always remember your quote to me "when it is too tough for everyone else, it is just right for us." Your memory will be passed onto the great grandchildren you loved so dearly. They will know you through me. I love you! Heather -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- May 22, 2009 All Bob's many friends at the old Frontier Airlines are saddened to hear of his passing. Our condolences to his family. ~ Jake Lamkins, Fayetteville, Arkansas