I was fortunate to know George Neal casually for many years. I never had the opportunity to fly with him, other than to be his passenger a couple of times in DHC aircraft. He had a keen knowledge of aircraft, and I always learned something from him. He was present at a retired deHavilland pilots lunch late in 2015 when I attended as a guest.
I attended his funeral (with at least one other PPRuNer) last April. A highlight was a eulogy by a niece, who had brought along with her the very DHC 4 Caribou control wheel which George had bailed with, when he and his copilot left their test Caribou as it broke up during flutter testing. There were many great stories at that event. George was one of a kind.