Master of the Round flies west

It was clear that during his lifetime Roger Currier loved working on round aircraft engines as much as flying his seaplanes around the Moosehead Lake area of Northern Maine.

Sad to report our friend Roger, who we met last summer, died April 25, 2021. I remember him telling me that he had been ill for a while but that he was feeling OK at the time we met him. He had stopped doing revenue flights because of his sickness, but still enjoyed flying for his own enjoyment.

My wife Joan and I are again in Maine for the summer escaping the Florida heat and humidity for a more temperate seasonal climate. Usually while we are here, we travel around looking for aviation stories about unusual aircraft, remote grass airstrips, and opportunities to take a general aviation flight over the state where I grew up.

We agreed that when we came to Maine this summer, we would pay our condolences in person to Sue, Roger’s wife, who he said was the real boss of Currier’s Flying Service.

We also were able to catch up with pilot Roger Paradise, who we had flown with last summer.

When we pulled into the parking area, we noticed a memorial garden with a large stone on which a bronze metal plaque was affixed stating “Master of the Round,” with Roger’s name, birth date, and the date he passed away. It is surrounded by colorful perennial flowers and smaller rocks.

Sue mentioned that some time ago Roger had noticed the large stone on their property and suggested to her that one day it would be a proper memorial marker.

She then suggested we spend some time in Roger’s aviation museum. When you go through the museum it becomes clear that Roger, who was an Airframe and Powerplant mechanic with inspection authorization, really loved working on big radial aircraft engines. He got this training courtesy of the United States Air Force.

There were archives containing aircraft engine service manuals, as well as individual aircraft service manuals, such as Cessna, Piper and de Havilland Beaver, to name a few. There were Jacob and Pratt and Whitney engines opened up on engine stands so you could look closely inside to see how they function and go together.

There were pictures and photos of seaplanes that Roger has owned. I found a photo of Roger and singer Jimmy Buffett, who is also an accomplished pilot. Some time ago when Jimmy was in Maine, he took a flight with Roger over the Moosehead area.

The museum also contains an older Cessna 195 and a de Havilland Beaver, an old Link Trainer, a Jeep, and a collection of old outboard motors.

Roger and Sue ran this successful flying service for four decades using the de Havilland Beaver, a couple of older Cessna 195s, a Cessna 180, and a Super Cub, all on floats.

To me Roger was the personification of the bush pilot of years ago flying fisherman and hunters into the north woods of Maine, landing on distant lakes where the only way in was by air.

He surely will be missed by his family, friends, and the many folks who looked forward to flying with him. We were glad to see that Currier’s Flying Service is still going strong under the supervision of Sue and Roger.