John F. McDonald 1917-2005
John McDonald lived life to the fullest, and then some. Whether in the middle of efforts to develop reliable trans-Atlantic passenger service for BOAC (later British Airways) following World War II, managing key disciplines associated with reliability and maintainability for Lockheed Aircraft Corporation’s SST project, leading the Flying Tiger Line to record-breaking fleet reliability rates, or barreling along California back roads in his beloved Jaguar (his head barely visible above the dashboard), John McDonald never called “time out” and he never looked back.
Born in London in June 1917, John graduated as an aeronautical engineer after an apprenticeship at Westland Aircraft Ltd. in conjunction with a five-year engineering course at Yeovil Technical College. He joined BOAC in 1940 and during World War II directed a design and development group associated with a quasi-military airline. After the war he became Chief Technical Officer at BOAC, supporting development of the airline’s trans-Atlantic fleet of Lockheed Constellations and Boeing Stratocruisers. In 1952 John crossed the Atlantic permanently to accept a variety of engineering assignments – focused on maintainability, reliability, safety and logistics – for Lockheed. He was at the center of these disciplines for Lockheed’s SST development project until it was terminated in 1966; at which time he moved on to assume similar responsibilities for the Lockheed L-1011, the Tri-Star.
In 1967 John joined the world’s pioneer all-cargo airline, the Flying Tiger Line, as Vice President, Maintenance & Engineering. He directed the industry’s first passenger-into-freighter modifications by introducing the B-747 and modernized Flying Tigers’ maintenance systems, bringing the all-cargo operation to industry record levels of reliability. John was elected to the Flying Tiger board in 1975. He joined TigerAir in 1979 as Vice President, Technical Services and retired in 1982, after a combined 48 years of leadership in aircraft design and airline operation.
In 1980 John was appointed to NASA’S Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP), the Congressionally established body that monitors safety concerns associated with the Space Shuttle, International Space Station, and various aeronautics projects. John took the lead in directing the ASAP’s pursuits related to reliability, maintainability, and logistics. He served as a member or consultant to the panel until 1999 when he retired and was awarded NASA’s Distinguished Public Service Medal.
John was a Chartered Engineer on the U.K. Register and a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in the U.K. and the American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics and the Society of Automotive Engineers in the U.S. He served on numerous professional committees and authored prize-winning papers on maintenance, reliability and logistics.

He passed away on April 16, 2005 in Carmel, CA leaving his wife of 64 years, Kathleen his daughter and son-in-law, Ann & Jerry Grell, and a grandson, Jonathan Grell.