Remembering an ace

Dozens of people swapped stories about Roger Christgau Saturday at the Austin Municipal Airport.

He was a heck of a pilot, they said. He could do things no other airman could do. His P-51 Mustang, the Sierra Sue II, was a special plane.

Roger was honored by his brother, John Christgau, his close friends and family, and many people who knew and respected him during a memorial air show to honor the man many said was one of the best pilots they had ever come across.

“He flew this plane harder than it was ever properly built for,” John said Saturday.

Roger died Oct. 5, 2012, at 81 years young. By all accounts, he was an ace pilot who happened to excel at whatever he decided. Born Sept. 9, 1931, Roger would have an adventurous life as he became a doctor, Air Force gunnery instructor at Nellis Air Force Base and an airshow pilot for many years.

“He was one of the best pilots — no contest — that I ever flew with,” said Blake Middleton, Roger’s longtime friend and fellow airshow pilot for decades.

Middleton remembers how he and Roger would travel throughout the U.S. six or seven times every summer to put on airshows. The Federal Aviation Administration would block off a five-mile radius for the show, where Middleton and Roger were free to do whatever exciting stunts they could dream of, all with Middleton leading.

“He preferred that I lead,” he said with a smile.

Roger was severely injured in a plane crash in his mid 20s; however, he pulled through and never complained about pain despite his lifelong struggles from a broken leg and back. Instead, he became a doctor.

For decades, Roger owned Sierra Sue II and pushed its limits. The plan was one of the last operational World War II combat planes. Roger’s quest to perform with it led him to another great friend in James Hanson of Grand Meadow.

“My nephew helped to repaint it,” Hanson said.

Hanson knew Roger for more than three decades as Roger threw himself into whatever passion he had, be it planes, cars, boats or anything else that could go fast.

He wasn’t the only one to honor Roger Saturday. More than 200 people and 24 planes were on hand to put on a memorial for a legendary airshow pilot. Hanson was one of the main organizers of the show to honor his friend’s legacy.

Roger’s life is memorialized in his brother John’s book, “Sierra Sue II: The Story of a P-51 Mustang,” which John wrote in the early 1990s. John can still recall some of Roger’s famous exploits, like when he flew too low to the ground and scared the relatives, or when Roger flew his P-51 home during his time in the military.

Roger’s famous plane was sold a few years ago to Paul Ehlen of Minneapolis, who provided the famous bird for Roger’s memorial this past weekend.

The airshow was surely an honor for a great pilot, but John knows how Roger would have taken the honor if he were still alive.

“He would never have tolerated it,” John said with a laugh.