George T. McDonald

NASM Wall of Honor Biographical Summary
George T. McDonald (1942-)
George’s interest in aviation began as a boy seeing Lockheed P-38 Lightnings flying overhead in southern California. In the early 1960s, he visited Edwards Air Force Base and remembers seeing the North American X-15 underneath the wing of a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. George, with his wife and 3 young children, moved to Alaska in 1970 (they were driving along the Alaskan [ALCAN] Highway, out of touch with the news, when the rest of the world’s attention was on the Apollo 13 mission). It seemed that everyone in Alaska flew airplanes, so George began taking flying lessons and obtained his private pilot certificate in 1971. He enjoyed flying a Cessna 150 out of Birchwood Field in Eagle River. One of his favorite destinations was Talkeetna, where the accompanying photo was taken with his son John. George stopped flying after leaving Alaska, but he has maintained his interest in aviation ever since. Settling in Washington state, he would take his family to the local airshow where he remembers seeing Bob Hoover fly the Rockwell Shrike Commander and North American P-51 Mustang, and where he also met famous World War II fighter pilot Gregory “Pappy” Boyington. George has gone on flight experiences in a Douglas DC-3, a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, and a Consolidated B-24 Liberator. And although he hasn’t acted as pilot-in-command in over 40 years, George continues to carry his pilot’s certificate in his wallet. George’s name is on the Wall of Honor along side his son, John P. McDonald.