Brewer, Maine: An oft-recited aviation saying claims “there are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots.”
Peter Goutiere is living proof that saying is wrong.
Goutiere celebrated his 100th birthday last month. Many years were spent in the air, including during World War II, when he transported cargo under enemy fire while dodging mountain peaks in Asia.
Goutiere was born to British parents in India in 1914. His father was a superintendent of police in an area outside New Delhi. At age 14, his family moved to Bangor, following his older sister Christine Weston, who moved to Maine after marrying a Bangor businessman. She became a successful author.
The Goutieres moved across the Penobscot River to Brewer a year after their arrival. He went on to graduate from Brewer High School in his early 20s, after dropping out for a few years, and ultimately ended up marrying his former English teacher in 1939.
That same year, he enrolled at the University of Maine, became an American citizen and heard President Franklin D. Roosevelt initiate a Civilian Pilot Training Program in an effort to beef up the number of trained pilots in the United States.
Goutiere signed up through the university and began training in Bangor. His first training flight was in 1939, when he and an instructor flew out of Godfrey Field — today’s Bangor International Airport — in a small Piper Cub. After demonstrating a few turns, the instructor let go of the yoke and gave the control to Goutiere.
“That was the time of my life,” the spry, sharp centenarian said. Later that day, he took the plane up on his own, sparking a love affair that has lasted 75 years and has taken him across the globe.
Last month, Goutiere stepped into a DC-3 on an airstrip in Washington state. The plane, restored by the Historic Flight Foundation, was the same one Goutiere flew during a portion of his time flying in Asia. The plane went up for a four-hour flight, from Seattle to San Francisco. Goutiere piloted the 70-year-old plane for a portion of that journey.
This week, Goutiere returned to Brewer to deliver a speech about his life as a pilot to a group known as The Quiet Birdmen, a secretive organization founded by World War I pilots for U.S aviators. Its meetings are closed to the public, and the rules of the Birdmen bar them from seeking publicity.
06/10/14 Nick McCrea/Bangor Daily News
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Peter Goutiere is living proof that saying is wrong.
Goutiere celebrated his 100th birthday last month. Many years were spent in the air, including during World War II, when he transported cargo under enemy fire while dodging mountain peaks in Asia.
Goutiere was born to British parents in India in 1914. His father was a superintendent of police in an area outside New Delhi. At age 14, his family moved to Bangor, following his older sister Christine Weston, who moved to Maine after marrying a Bangor businessman. She became a successful author.
The Goutieres moved across the Penobscot River to Brewer a year after their arrival. He went on to graduate from Brewer High School in his early 20s, after dropping out for a few years, and ultimately ended up marrying his former English teacher in 1939.
That same year, he enrolled at the University of Maine, became an American citizen and heard President Franklin D. Roosevelt initiate a Civilian Pilot Training Program in an effort to beef up the number of trained pilots in the United States.
Goutiere signed up through the university and began training in Bangor. His first training flight was in 1939, when he and an instructor flew out of Godfrey Field — today’s Bangor International Airport — in a small Piper Cub. After demonstrating a few turns, the instructor let go of the yoke and gave the control to Goutiere.
“That was the time of my life,” the spry, sharp centenarian said. Later that day, he took the plane up on his own, sparking a love affair that has lasted 75 years and has taken him across the globe.
Last month, Goutiere stepped into a DC-3 on an airstrip in Washington state. The plane, restored by the Historic Flight Foundation, was the same one Goutiere flew during a portion of his time flying in Asia. The plane went up for a four-hour flight, from Seattle to San Francisco. Goutiere piloted the 70-year-old plane for a portion of that journey.
This week, Goutiere returned to Brewer to deliver a speech about his life as a pilot to a group known as The Quiet Birdmen, a secretive organization founded by World War I pilots for U.S aviators. Its meetings are closed to the public, and the rules of the Birdmen bar them from seeking publicity.
06/10/14 Nick McCrea/Bangor Daily News
