Times of the Islands Spring 2019

getting to know
These late-1960s historical images document Embry Rucker’s early days in the Turks & Caicos Islands. Clockwise from top: This is the Cessna
180 “tail dragger” that was the first plane Embry used to fly people back and forth between the Islands for Caicos Airways. Embry is seated
on the flight deck of the Cessna 180. The plane was also used to deliver mail in the Islands. This image shows Embry following a crash near
Conch Bar, Middle Caicos—the landing gear collapsed and the nose went straight down. Fortunately, no one was injured. The Seven Dwarfs
was a 65-foot freight boat which Provident Ltd., Providenciales’ early developers, used to carry materials from the US mainland.
Up, Up and Away!
Embry Rucker was the Islands’ first resident pilot.
By Trish Flanagan ~ Photos Courtesy Embry Rucker
Today, a regular daily air service links the islands of the Turks & Caicos, while international connections
bring travellers to and from the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and
Haiti (among other countries). But 50 years ago there were no airports, no flight infrastructure and bush
was cleared away to create basic air strips. Embry Rucker was the first resident pilot in the Islands and he
has documented the experience in his memoir, Coming in for a Landing—Ten Years Flying in the Islands.
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