Foil: 41 Panel: 1 Column: 1 Line: 6

Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Leader

Honored by:
Mr. Christopher Burns

George D. Burns was an avid amateur aviator from the age of 19. In the early 1960's, he learned to fly at Twin Pines Airport in Pennington, NJ in small power planes like Aeroncas, Cessnas, and Pipers and in a sailplane. One day he successfully landed his Aeronca Defender after the propeller came off in flight, putting his new-found gliding knowledge to good use. He co-founded an aviation club in 1965 at Millersville University in Millersville, PA with his best friend Lee Krow. Flying out of Lancaster Airport together, they conducted aerial experiments for the science department and flew formations during football games.

After a gap of nearly 20 years, George returned to aviation through model airplanes and sailplanes with his young son Chris in the mid-1980's. He designed and built many of his own R/C model airplanes. He was an active member of the Lift Club of York, PA and participated in dozens of local and national model sailplane contests. While a member of the Lift Club, he and other club members toured the Smithonsian's "Silver Hill" facility several times, always admiring the unique aircraft under restoration. He never tired of studying the design of aircraft. His father had worked in the manufacturing of TBF Avengers in Trenton, NJ during WWII. He seemed convinced that the only museum worth visiting in Washington, D.C. was the National Air and Space Museum.

In 1994 he re-entered full-scale soaring and joined the Mid-Atlantic Soaring Association (MASA) in Fairfield, PA. He purchased his first sailplane, a Grob Astir, in 1996. Three years later he added a Cessna 140 to his personal fleet and comfortably switched back and forth weekly between soaring and power. As he approached retirement from his analyst's job with the PA Bureau of State Parks, he began preparing for a second career as an A&P mechanic. He worked alongside his friend Dick Duncan at Wings 'N Things, a small fixed-base operation located at Capital City Airport in New Cumberland, PA, repairing single-engine aircraft. Eventually he sold his Cessna 140 and replaced his Grob with a high performance sailplane, an ASW 20B. Shortly before the age of 60, he embarked upon frequent cross-country soaring flights of two to four hours duration.

In 2005 George retired as a mechanic, and in 2007 he retired from soaring, even as he continued to volunteer at the Mid-Atlantic Soaring Association as head of field maintenance.

George always loved to fly. He also loved to share his passion with friends and family. His wife, Eileen, and his son Chris, together with his friends, have put his name onto the National Air and Space Museum's Wall of Honor in his memory.