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Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Sponsor

Honored by:

Captain Doug MacLean has been captivated by flight from his earliest childhood, as one of his first words reportedly was "ra-plane". He submitted a paper in the 4th grade stating that his ambition was to fly airplanes. He soloed at 17, and later enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1966, to fly helicopters. On his 20th birthday, August 29, 1967, he was appointed as a U.S. Army Warrant Officer, and received his military wings. That day he also received his civilian commercial pilot licenses for both fixed wing and rotary-wing aircraft.

Serving a combat tour in Viet Nam he flew both the Bell UH-1D "Huey" Helicopter and the OH-6A "Cayuse", earning eleven combat air medals. Returning to civilian life, he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Aeronautical Science from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in 1971 and a Master's Degree in Aerospace Education from Middle Tennessee State University in 1972.

In September of 1972 he joined the U.S. Air Force and was a Commissioned Officer flying both the T-37 and T-38 in training, and operationally he flew as Aircraft Commander on the C-130 "Hercules" transport for five years.

After exiting the Air Force in 1979, he was a pilot for various organizations, including Texas International Airlines, Classic Airlines, SkyBus Airlines, Flight Safety International, Vanguard Airlines, and AirTran Airways. In 1997, the remnants of the Value Jet Airlines were merged with AirTran Airways. AirTran was the first customer for the new Boeing 717 aircraft. Captain MacLean was selected to be one of the first pilots to fly this new aircraft when they were purchased by AirTran in 1999. He flew for AirTran for 12 years, flying as Captain on the Boeing 717 for 8 years.

Captain MacLean retired August 28, 2007 after flying for almost 42 years. During his career he amassed over 27,000 hours of flight. He earned two aviation oriented college degrees. He flew in both the Army and the Air Force, for nine airlines, and numerous customers. He flew for Generals, Celebrities and Royalty, and never had an accident or a violation.

Not bad for a kid who only wanted to fly.