If you ask Germantown Academy graduate Luke Closson Jr. ’61 if he’s ever been to a particular city, state or country, chances are pretty good that he’s been there—twice.

With at least 10,000 flights under his belt as a military, airline and civilian pilot, Closson has flown to virtually every state in America and has made treks around the world—Europe, South America, the Middle East and the Far East. He’s ventured as far north as Moscow and Alaska and as far south as Buenos Aires. He’s traveled as far east as Bombay and ventured west as far as Tokyo.

These days, Closson no longer flies commercial jets, but has not given up his love of flying.  Every summer he returns to Hilltown from his home in Valdosta, Georgia to teach future pilots how to fly gliders, something he’s been doing since 1976; just a little side job for when he’s not practicing law at Closson, Bass & Tomberlin.

That’s right, in addition to being a seasoned pilot, Closson is also a veteran attorney, two occupations that rarely end up on the same resume. To understand Closson’s career, it’s best to start at the beginning.

For as long as he can remember, Closson always wanted to be a pilot. Following his graduation from GA, he jumped at the chance to attend the initial year of the Air Force Academy Prep School.

“During the 50s after the Korean War there was a surplus of pilots in our country and virtually the only place to fly jets was the military,” wrote Closson in an e-mail. “The only guaranteed way to get to military pilot training was to be a service academy graduate.”

Upon completion from the Air Force Academy Prep School, Closson was appointed to the U.S. Air Force Academy where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Science in 1966. Following his graduation, Closson was sent to pilot training at Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta, Georgia where he graduated near the top of his class.

“[I] was offered an instructor assignment in the supersonic advanced trainers where I specialized in formation and air-to-air,” wrote Closson. “I wanted very much to go to Vietnam in a fighter since that was what I was training men to do.  Despite several ‘agreements’ to send me to Vietnam in a fighter, after three years of instructing others I was told the war was winding down and I would be assigned a transport. Based on that I resigned and applied to many airlines and was fortunate to be hired by Delta.”

During his 30-plus years manning commercial planes for Delta and others, he found himself wanting more out of his job. In the mid-70s, he noted that the airline industry was flat and that he was feeling uninterested.

“While the job has a certain amount of fun in it—after awhile it becomes somewhat boring and does not offer much in terms of emotional or intellectual satisfaction,” wrote Closson. “I decided to go back to school—having a combined, Aero/Astro/Mechanical/Electrical engineering degree from the Air Force Academy, I knew that was NOT where my interests lay. Many were getting MBAs and I wanted something different.”

Upon the suggestion of friends, Closson applied to law school. He was admitted to The John Marshall School of Law and transferred to the training department of Delta Air Lines at the same time allowing him to work out a schedule which permitted him to study. For three years Closson split his time between instructing pilots and his nose in a book, and in 1979 his hard work paid off as he graduated Magna Cum Laude from John Marshall.

To this day, Closson is still passionate about law and helping those in need.

“While I have enjoyed my flying career immensely (it really was a lot of fun), nothing compares to the satisfaction in representing injured workers and litigation,” wrote Clossen. “If I could not try cases I probably would stop practicing law.”

As mentioned earlier, when Closson isn’t practicing law, he can probably be found in the sky instructing student-pilots on the ins and outs of glider planes.

“I got into gliding when a friend of mine from Pennsylvania called in the spring of 1976 asking me to come and instruct gliding at a camp for teenagers in the summer,” Closson wrote. “I told him I didn’t even have a glider license, but would be happy to get one. I went to Tennessee and quickly qualified for a commercial glider license. I showed up in PA in June 1976 and my friend told me the FAA would be there the next day to give me an instructor check ride. Sure enough he came and we started the oral exam—happily I had been teaching folks to fly in the Air Force, for Delta and civilian flying for many years and the oral was a snap.

“Next we got into the glider and the FAA examiner advised me to treat him like a student and that he would make the takeoff and I should instruct him. That was fine with me since I knew I had almost no experience in gliders.  A few seconds later I realized that I might not know much about gliders, but I knew way more than he did.  Suffice it to say I was a newly licensed glider instructor. The next day, 21 young men ages 14-17 showed up with their three instructors. By the time I had given seven ‘this is your first flight in a glider’ speeches and continued on I was learning way, way more than they were about gliding. I have been teaching gliding at Philadelphia Glider Council and in southern Georgia ever since and have flown gliders in England and over the Alps in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.”

Closson noted his education at GA helped prepare him for college and his professional career.

“GA made a huge difference in my life,” Closson wrote. “It was at GA that I was challenged directly, and most important, very personally to learn and apply my education. It was the very personal level of focus which made me begin to wake-up and realize that I had responsibility to learn. The education and preparation at GA allowed me to sail academically in college. The focus by my English teacher, Mr. Shoff, in coming to understand that writing required re-writing and re-writing and that it was work, but had results has really helped me throughout my legal career.”

Closson has proved that it’s never too late to learn a new skill or be a student, an attitude toward education that GA preaches to its students every day. What Closson will learn next has yet to be determined, but you can bet it will involve soaring above the clouds.