George Shattuck is shown (second from right) with SGTC Aviation instructors Bobby Wooldridge,James Manning, and Mike Cochran.

George Shattuck, shown to the right of the plane’s wing, flew in to show SGTC students the airplane he built from a kit.

Shattuck flies in to visit SGTC aviation students
Wednesday November 4, 2009
A retired corporate pilot and Vietnam veteran flew in to the Jimmy Carter Regional Airport in Americus recently to show South Georgia Technical College Aviation students his Lancair home-built airplane and share his love of aviation with the students.

George Shattuck flew in from Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro to show South Georgia Technical College students taking Aviation Maintenance, Avionics, and Aircraft Structural classes his airplane that he built from a Lancair kit.

Shattuck flew tail hook attack airplanes in the United States Navy for 25 years. He retired from the Navy and continued to fly Lear jets and Falcon 50 airliners as a corporate pilot. After his stint as a corporate pilot, Shattuck decided he wanted to build his very own plane out of a kit.

“When I retired, I decided I wanted a performance airplane,” said Shattuck. “I wanted to go fast!”

The numbers on the side of Shattuck’s Lancair aircraft read “N320GS.” “The ‘GS’ stands for ‘George and Shirley’,” said Shattuck. “Shirley is my wife.”

The Shattuck family is continuing the aviation tradition. Shattuck has two sons in the Navy, and has flown all but the youngest of his twelve grandchildren in his plane. Shattuck’s second oldest grandchild is also working on earning a pilot’s license.

For more information about the SGTC avionics program, contact Instructor Mike Cochran at 229.931.2584. For information about aviation maintenance, contact James Manning at 229.931.2582 or Victoria Herron at 229.931.2583, and for aircraft structural classes, contact instructor Mike Reaves at 229.931.2585.

South Georgia Technical College is currently accepting applications for Winter Quarter. Classes begin January 7th and open registration will be held on January 5th and 6th. For more information about South Georgia Technical College visit our website at www.southgatech.edu or call the admissions office at 229.931.2760 in Americus or 229.271.4051 in Cordele.