Robert Reeve, seen here on his first airplane-a Fairchild 51-developed a way to land on mud flats using skis.
Robert “Bob” Campbell Reeve, one of Alaska’s most legendary bush pilots, fundamentally shaped Alaska aviation by founding Reeve Aleutian Airways in 1947, operating initially with a surplus Douglas DC-3 C-47 Skytrain purchased from the U.S. Air Force. His airline would serve the remote and weather-torn Aleutian Chain for more than half a century, becoming a vital link for communities otherwise cut off from the world.
Born in Waunakee, Wisconsin, on March 27, 1902—a year before the Wright brothers’ historic flight—Reeve grew up enthralled by the emerging world of aviation. By age 15, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and soon after experienced his first airplane ride, forever altering his ambitions.
Reeve became a certified pilot in 1926 and honed his skills through barnstorming in Texas and flying airmail in South America, where he set a speed record between Santiago, Chile, and Lima, Peru. His adventurous spirit led him to navigate the high Andes at 23,000 feet in a Fairchild 71 without supplemental oxygen.
Reeve’s journey to Alaska began as a stowaway on a steamship in 1932, arriving nearly penniless but determined. In Valdez, he met aviator Owen Meals, whose crashed Eaglerock biplane Reeve repaired and then leased. Clearing an airstrip in a cow pasture, he launched a small charter business, soon shifting focus to serve isolated gold mines scattered across formidable terrain.
Through inventive techniques—such as landing on mudflats with skis and performing glacier landings—Reeve quickly earned the nickname “Glacier Pilot,” executing more than 2,000 landings on perilous icefields.
Reeve also developed methods like using tides and mudflats for takeoff and wrapping mining equipment in mattresses to drop from the air when landings proved impossible. His feats, including a world record glacier landing at 8,750 feet on Mount Lucania in 1937, were not without peril. On that hazardous flight, he waited a week for temperatures to drop enough so the plane could take off safely, narrowly escaping disaster by launching off a snow cliff.
Reeve suffered a few tragedies, as well. His twin brother died in a crash, a windstorm flipped his plane, and fires twice destroyed his hangar and aircraft. But the aviator persisted, moving first to Fairbanks in 1941, and then to Anchorage, where he became the only civilian bush pilot flying under exclusive military contract during World War II. This experience, combined with his deep knowledge of the treacherous Aleutian weather and landscape, set the stage for his air service vision.
After the war, Reeve bought and converted surplus military transports, notably flying 26 round trips between Alaska and Seattle in 53 days during a pivotal steamship strike—a surge that helped pay off his initial loan and expand his fleet. Reeve Aleutian Airways grew steadily through the 1950s and 1960s, adding DC-4s and later jets, operating from old military airfields and providing essential service to the Aleutians.
Reeve’s leadership and insistence on safety propelled the company, whose survival depended on both his resourcefulness and his knack for adapting to changing conditions. Reeve was named “Alaskan of the Year” in 1972 and inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1975.
He stepped down in 1978, handing control to his son, Richard, who led the company into the jet age. Robert Reeve died in 1980, but his legacy as the “Glacier Pilot” –pioneering Alaska’s air routes, saving lives, and connecting communities – lives on. His flight goggles, cap, and a model of his first airplane bear silent testimony in the Valdez Museum, memorializing his colossal impact on Alaskan aviation.
Reeve Aleutian Airways ultimately succumbed to increased competition and deregulation, ceasing operations in 2001.
This column features stories researched for Aunt Phil’s Trunk, a five-book Alaska history series written by Laurel Downing Bill and her late aunt, Phyllis Downing Carlson. Along with Bill’s latest book “Pioneers From Alaska’s Past,” the books are available at bookstores and gift shops throughout Alaska, as well as online at www.auntphilstrunk.com and Amazon.
