Jack Real

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Jack Real was a legendary aerospace pioneer.

After graduating from Calumet High School in Michigan he quickly moved on to attend Michigan Tech, graduation in 1937. Immediately he went to work for McDonnell Douglas and shortly after, for Lockheed, where he met the infamous Howard Hughes. In 1957 Real became Hughes’ personal advisor and stuck by him until Hughes’ passing in 1976.

Among the many achievements Real attained during his lifetime, he was on the Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America, and helped Kelly Johnson, another big name in the industry, with the testing of the SR-71 at the mysterious Area 51. Real also contributed work on the Apache helicopter which revolutionized the way our military conducts warfare. Throughout all of this, Hughes and Real remained close confidants. Hughes felt that he could reveal anything he needed to Real and it was understood between the two just where their friendship stood. In 1979, 3 years after Hughes’ death, Real became the President of Hughes Helicopter and served for 8 years until his retirement in 1987.

Real was often thought of as Hughes’ best friend, and in spite of Hughes’ passing and his retirement, Real was still not ready to give up his love of Aerospace. Real played a key role in relocating the Spruce Goose to the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, OR where he was Chairman and President from 1995-2001.

Before his passing on September 6, 2005 Real wrote a book, “The Asylum of Howard Hughes,” so that others could know exactly what it was like to be Howard Hughes’ “Last, Best Friend.”