George Arthur Neal

George Arthur Neal was born in Downsview, Ontario, on November 21, 1918. He learned to fly at the Toronto Flying Club in 1935 and earned his Private Pilot's Licence in 1936. From 1937 to 1941 he was employed at de Havilland Aircraft Canada (DHC). In 1941 he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and was posted on leave to No. 10 Air Observers School in Chatham, New Brunswick, where he became a Flight Commander, Chief Test Pilot and Assistant Maintenance Superintendent.

In 1946 he rejoined DHC where he would be employed for the next 37 years. His first job was in the engine shop, and in 1947 he was transferred to the flying staff as a full time pilot and took over the development testing of the new DHC-1 Chipmunk. He became Chief Test Pilot in 1948 and was involved in several flight test programs which were unique for that time. One was the testing of a twin-engine de Havilland Dove as a float plane. In addition to learning that the floats did not enhance the lateral/directional characteristics of the Dove, it was shown that the aircraft had no positive climb performance on one engine.

In 1948, with the introduction of the British de Havilland Vampire jet into service in the RCAF, Neal became one of the first civilian pilots in Canada to become jet qualified. He did a considerable amount of demonstration and development testing of this aircraft. Once, while testing an emergency engine relight system, the engine failed to re-start. Neal was well north of Toronto at the time, but was able to glide the Vampire back to the airport at Downsview for a successful dead-stick landing.

The flight testing of the Beaver, first flown by Russ Bannock, was completed by Neal in 1948. This included the civilian flight certification required to obtain a Civil Type Rating. His convincing demonstration of the short take-off and landing (STOL) features of the Beaver led to sales throughout the world where it has become one of the most famous of Canadian aircraft.

On December 12, 1951, he piloted the first flight of the DHC-3 Otter. Over the next two years he succeeded in obtaining certification of this aircraft at increased gross weights in the original land-plane configuration, and later in the float and ski-plane versions. The Otter and the Beaver were both acquired by the U.S. Army. The Otter was used widely by the U.S. Army in Viet Nam, the U.S. Navy in the Antarctic, and throughout the world by the RCAF. The Otter was the only light transport to satisfy the low speed flying qualities required by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Category C Standards.

The first flight of the prototype Caribou was flown by Neal on July 30, 1958. His demonstration flights left no doubt as to its STOL capabilities. The Caribou was the first multi-engine aircraft designed and built by DHC, and was the first Civil Aviation Regulation '4b' Transport Category aircraft to be certified by the Department of Transport.

Toward the end of the Caribou program, during high speed trials, a modified version developed flutter. After the loss of part of the tail surface, it became unmanageable, and Neal and the accompanying Department of Transport test pilot were forced to abandon the aircraft. Neal's attention to detail before he bailed out prevented fire following the crash, and enabled a clear study of the cause of the flutter. He was made a member of the Caterpillar Club. (This club was sponsored by the Irvin Parachute Company. Only those who have used a parachute to survive an unserviceable aircraft can become a member.) The Caribou was purchased in quantity by the RCAF, the U.S. Army and many other foreign military services.

In all of the DHC designs mentioned above, Neal was a valued ambassador in demonstrating and promoting these aircraft. Much of their success in the world markets was due to the first hand impressions that he was able to convey to customers.

During the development period of the new DHC aircraft, Neal took part in the testing of many aircraft in repair, overhaul, and modification programs. These included the Canso flying boat, Avro Lancaster, Harvard trainer, Canadair North Star, the Alvis Leonides-powered Beaver, and the DH-built twin engine Grumman Tracker, 100 of which were built for the Canadian Navy. He was involved in the development testing of Twin Otters, Buffalos and Dash-7's. Two experimental programs involved one heavily modified 'Batwing' Otter, which was used to study flap downwash, and another, 'Silent Otter' study for the U.S. Army.

In 1975 Neal was made Director of Flight Operations of de Havilland Canada, where he became responsible for the flight standards and flying discipline. He was also responsible for production testing, flight instruction, flight demonstrations, and aircraft deliveries throughout the world. He retired in 1983 but was called back to assist in the production testing of the Dash-7 and Dash-8.

Neal was Chief Pilot for the National Aviation Museum until 1991, when the program of flying their vintage aircraft ended. He flew the Sopwith Pup, Avro 504K, and Nieuport 17, which are in the museum's collection. He has also rebuilt a Hawker Hind for the museum. He presently owns and flies a DH Hornet Moth and Chipmunk, and a Piper Arrow. He has accumulated over 14,700 hours on over 100 different aircraft.

In 1989 Neal won Canada's most prestigious aviation award, the Trans-Canada (McKee) Trophy. The citation reads, in part, " ...Perhaps no other pilot in Canada has had such a varied and complete career in aviation." On October 18, 1997, Neal was inducted into the de Havilland Aircraft of Canada's Hall of Fame.

George Arthur Neal was inducted as a Member of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame in 1995 at a ceremony held in Edmonton, Alberta.

George Neal has long been interested in vintage aircraft. During the 1950's he procured a copy of the original drawings for the Sopwith Pup and built an award-winning replica. He won with Keith Hopkinson Award from the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) for the best home-built aircraft in 1967. This aircraft is now on display at the National Aviation Museum in Ottawa.

On June 2, 2015, George piloted his blue and white Chipmunk from his home airport of Brampton to Toronto Pearson. It was scheduled for display at CAHF’s Induction Dinner on June 4th. The flight was recorded, and earned him recognition by Guinness World Records as being the oldest active licenced pilot, flying his own aircraft at the age of 96.

He died at his home in North York, Ontario on April 4, 2016.