November 5, 1935 – June 10, 2015
by Michael J. “Mick” Kaufman
General aviation flight instructor and former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot and test pilot, George E. Luck, 80, was killed June 10, 2015, when the early model Beechcraft Bonanza he was giving flight instruction in lost power on takeoff from Pane Field in Everett, Washington.
Luck was an accomplished test pilot and a renowned flight instructor known throughout the U.S. He attended West Point and Georgia Institute of Technology where he studied aeronautical engineering before entering the second ever class at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. After graduation, Luck enrolled in the Air Force Test Pilot School where he flew everything from fighters capable of plus-Mach 2, to bombers and tankers.
Luck flew during the Cold War, and combat in Vietnam, where in 1969, his Skyraider was shot down during a mission in Laos. Air America rescued Luck, which started a lifelong friendship with those crewmembers.
During the Cold War, Luck flew many missions in B52s out of Sawyer Air Force Base in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
During the remainder of his Air Force career, Luck trained pilots and served at the Pentagon twice — once with the Joint Chiefs of Staff before retiring as a colonel with 25 years of service.
Luck’s career continued when he went to work as an engineer and test pilot for Boeing in 1985 in Wichita, Kansas, then later in Seattle, Washington.
George Luck was also a passionate general aviation pilot and aircraft owner. He was a stockholder and flight instructor with Bonanza Baron Pilot Training, named “Pilot of the Year” by the Washington Pilots Association in 1996, and received the FAA “Wright Brothers Award” for 50 years of safe flying.
In addition to his son, Michael, of Kansas, George Luck is survived by his wife of 49 years, Carolyn. He was buried at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. on July 8, 2015.
EDITOR’S NOTE: I am truly saddened with the loss of this friend and mentor, and I know that he will be flying somewhere in the life beyond. Rusty Sachs, former administrator of the National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI), once said: “You know you have been good, when entering heaven, the Lord gives you a Cub on floats to fly. I am sure George will enjoy flying his.”
