A reception will be held at the Roy Franklin Terminal at Friday Harbor Airport at 2 p.m., Sunday, April 23rd at to honor the featured pilot for 2017, Bob Jamieson. Islanders are invited to celebrate the occasion of this annual addition to the San Juan Aviation Museum. This project, started in 2008, is jointly sponsored by the San Juan Pilots Association and the Port of Friday Harbor.
The museum records the history of aviation in the San Juan Islands since the early years after World War II when Roy Franklin first established scheduled air service linking San Juan Island with our neighboring islands and the mainland. As a living museum, displays are added each year to honor featured pilots who have made major contributions to this community and to aviation.
On this occasion, we will recognize and pay tribute to Bob Jamieson.
Bob’s first flight was at age 13 and the flying bug was set. After soloing on his 16th birthday, Bob had 600 hours by the time he graduated from Edmonds High School.
Drafted in 1967, Bob served in Vietnam flying a variety of transport and reconnaissance aircraft. He was decorated with the Air Medal with 26 clusters. Upon returning to the states, Bob earned his Airline Transport Pilot rating and was hired by American Airlines in 1978, from which he retired after 25-years of service. With over 24,000 hours of total flight time, Bob has accumulated a wide experience of aeronautical knowledge, including building several homebuilt planes.
Bob’s contributions to the island are also well known. He taught a ground school class at Friday Harbor High School for 10 years, and 13 of his students went on to learn to fly. As chief pilot for Island Air for 11 years, Bob made 400 fixed-wing medical evacuation flights, often at night.
Bob is being honored as a positive force in aviation over his long career and contributions to our island community. The SJ Pilots Association and Port of Friday Harbor hope islanders will join us in this celebration of our history. The public is invited and light refreshments will be served.
