NASM Wall of Honor Biographical Summary
John P. McDonald (1964-)
John’s interest in aviation began in Alaska at age 6 when his father became a private pilot, and his fascination with airplanes has continued ever since. Growing up, John built dozens of model airplanes and checked out numerous aviation books from the library, especially books about Boeing airliners. John remembers being enthralled by the huge vertical stabilizers of Boeing 747s looming above the terminal when the family took his father to Los Angeles International Airport for a business trip. John took his first flying lesson at age 14 in a Grumman AA-1A Yankee. Later, after becoming established in a career as a hydeogeologist, John started flying lessons again in 2000 and obtained his private pilot certificate in 2001. He fulfilled a lifelong goal when he purchased a Cessna 172 in 2010, which he enjoys flying around the Pacific Northwest. John’s boyhood fascination with airplanes has never waned. He enjoys visiting aviation museums, especially the National Air & Space Museum, the National Museum of the United States Air Force, and the Museum of Flight in Seattle. He has also gone on several flight experiences, including a Douglas DC-3, a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, a Consolidated B-24 Liberator, and a North American B-25 Mitchell. One of the most thrilling moments in John’s flying life occurred when he was a volunteer at an airshow and met Apollo 8 astronaut William A. “Bill” Anders who signed John’s logbook. And just like when he was a boy, John still runs outside and looks up when he hears a radial-engined airplane flying overhead (as happened when he was preparing this biography; it was a 1943 Grumman TBM Avenger). John’s name is on the Wall of Honor along side his father George T. McDonald (pictured with John in the accompanying photo) and his best friend of 36 years, the late Howard W. Hill III.