The science of flight has held a lifelong fascination for James McLachlan Jr. Working toward his dream job as an engineering student first at San Francisco Junior College and then at UC Berkeley, he even gained invaluable aviation maintenance and engineering experience as a US Marine serving his country during WWII.
Working for forty-three years in the aviation industry, McLachlan's numerous professional highlights include:
- Chairing the Rolls-Royce meeting on the Tyne Turbo Engine in the 1950s;
- Coordinating and performing the necessary modifications to the 1965 Rockwell Polar Flight aircraft to ensure it could complete its around-the-world flight over both poles and set a world record;
- Representing the Air Transport Association as part of the FAA delegation traveling to Russia in 1976 to study their aviation systems; and
- Coordinating the 1977 flight of the Concorde.
Traveling to over seventy countries and territories, McLachlan watched the world change around him-socially, politically, and technologically. Now you can catch an inside glimpse of nearly half a century of aviation history through A Career in Aviation from the DC-3 to the Concorde.
About the Author: James McLachlan Jr. is a retired aircraft engineer. Born in Berkeley, California, in 1923, he enlisted in the US Marine Corps and qualified for aviation at the age of nineteen. During the final years of WWII, he served in campaigns in the Central Pacific, Guam, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, eventually acting as noncommissioned officer.
After the war, McLachlan went on to work in aircraft maintenance and engineering for forty-three years. Employed by major airlines such as Transocean, United Airlines, Flying Tigers, World Airways, and Braniff International Airways, he served in a variety of roles, including aircraft maintenance inspector, flight engineer, and senior vice president of engineering and maintenance. Throughout, he remained an active member of the Air Transport Association. He retired from the aviation industry at the age of seventy-five.
McLachlan married his wife, Marge, in 1947 and is a proud father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
