Robert "Bud" Allan White, Col RCAF

In the words of his good friend Billie Flynn, "the RCAF has lost one of its greatest legends. Robert “Bud” White (Colonel RCAF, Ret’d) passed away at 97, leaving behind a legacy that few aviators will ever match.

 

In Canada’s Centennial year, Bud reached 100,110 feet in the Lockheed-built original CF-104—a high-altitude record that captured the nation’s imagination and symbolized everything this extraordinary man represented: courage, precision, and an unshakeable belief in reaching higher.

 

But numbers alone cannot capture Bud White. He was a force of nature—boundless energy contained in human form, with a mind that stayed razor-sharp through nearly a century of living. Whether carving down a ski slope or pushing an aircraft to its limits, Bud approached life with a fearlessness that was both inspiring and infectious. He never slowed down because he understood something most of us forget: life is meant to be lived. 

 

Bud was also one of the RCAF's greatest ambassadors and he touched countless lives across his 97 years—mentoring young pilots, captivating audiences with stories so incredible they seemed impossible (yet were always true), and never hesitating to fight for what he believed was right. His military career spanned 31 years, retiring as Base Commander of North Bay in 1979."

 

As a test pilot, he flew an incredible 52 aircraft types, including the CF-3 Freedom Fighter, Hawker Hunter, CF-100 Canuck, C-119 Flying Boxcar, Vampire, Harvard, Sabre, Gloster Meteor, C-117 Falcon, B-23 Mitchell, Huey helicopter, Canso, and CF-104 Starfighter.

 

Pre-selected to join the Avro Arrow flight test team, he returned to England in 1959 as a Flight Lieutenant to attend the year-long course at the Empire Test Pilots’ School at Farnborough. Following the Arrow’s cancellation, White returned to Canada in 1960 for engineering test-flying duties with CEPE. During a two-year period, he received a commendation for saving his crew and a C-119 Boxcar aircraft after suffering an engine failure on takeoff at maximum weight during an engineering test flight.

 

In 1962, White was loaned to NASA for the Mercury and Gemini manned programs where he was responsible for pilot safety, man-rating, and acceptance programs, with operational responsibility for engines, propellants, and loading systems. He knew the early astronauts - Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, Dick Slater, Wally Schirra, Gordon Cooper, John Young -  and was responsible for their safety as flight safety officer. Mercury used a Launch Escape System tower while Gemini used ejection seats up to 4,600 meters - thankfully never used. He recalled the early conversations about astronaut flight control versus monkeys and autonomous systems and advocated throughout his career for pilot control. The trajedy of the Boeing 737 MAX MCAS autonomous system in 2019 and 2020 which led to the deaths of 346 people enraged him.

 

An outstanding athlete and hockey player at UCC and RMC, White played for the RCAF Flyers against top national teams in Europe. An accomplished skier, he became a professional ski instructor while serving at NDHQ. After retiring from Avcorp Industries and moving to Whistler, BC, in 1986, he taught skiing professionally for six years, raced competitively in masters competitions, and became a certified ski racing coach. While in Whistler, he also transitioned from hiking into serious mountaineering, successfully climbing Mount Waddington, the Grand Teton, and peaks in the Tantalus Range.

 

In 1950, while recovering from a sports injury at Toronto General Hospital, Bud was captivated by his beautiful young nurse, Lee Smith. They married following his RMC graduation and raised four children, along with many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. In 1993, Bud and Lee moved to Wanaka on New Zealand’s South Island. Over the next ten years, they travelled widely including to Africa to fulfill Lee’s dream of seeing animals in the wild.

 

Bud joined a syndicate of high-country Merino sheep ranchers with a Cessna 172, taught skiing, raced in New Zealand and U.S. Masters Championships, and spent summers hiking and climbing. Bud and Lee returned to Canada in 2004. He served on the CAHF Board of Directors and was President of both the Air Force Officers Association and the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust.

 

Until a stroke impaired his left arm and leg in late 2023, he had been flying his own Navion aircraft and skiing at Whistler/Blackcomb. In his mid-80's, he fulfilled one of his bucket lists by flying his Navion solo from Vancouver to Ottawa over the course of 10 days landing at the Gatineau airport. Incredibly, during that same trip to Ottawa, he received his "ejection seat' medical readiness and flew with the Canadian Snowbirds aerobatic team during a performance over Parliament Hill. 

 

Vibrant to the end he was regularly playing chess with staff and studying complex moves from old Russian chess masters. The week before his peaceful passing he told his son that he was determined to get back in shape and was starting with 'core' exercises.

 

In 2009, the BC Aviation Council honoured him with its prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of “his notable achievements and distinguished service in military and civilian aviation.” For his engineering test flying, Gemini Program Office service with the USAF and NASA, and particularly for his leadership of the Centennial team, Colonel White was made an Officer of the Order of Military Merit (O.M.M.) by the Governor General of Canada in June 1974 in Ottawa. A month later, as one of the 28 McKee Trophy recipients he was inducted as a Member of the "First Class" of the new Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame at a ceremony held in Edmonton, Alberta.

 

He was a fearless supporter of Canada’s fighter force acquiring the Lockheed Martin F-35, and a ruthless critic of the bureaucrats and politicians who stalled and threatened to purchase an aircraft not good enough to protect Canada.

 

Bud White truly lived life to its fullest. Those who met him knew we were blessed to encounter this very special aviator. We are sad that he is gone, but also profoundly grateful—grateful for his friendship, grateful for the time shared, the many remarkable stories and grateful that Canada produced such a remarkable human being.