Posted on 08/31/2016 9:19:54 AM PDT by EveningStar
Joe Sutter, who was dubbed “Father of the 747” by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, has died at age 95. As the former chief engineer of Boeing’s 747, Sutter is credited with leading the birth of the first widebody airliner, which ushered in the globe-shrinking age of mass air travel.
(Excerpt) Read more at atwonline.com ...
Click here to view: Highlights in the History of Aviation and Aerospace - The Past, The Present, and The Future:
Please ping me to aviation and aerospace articles. Thank you.
If you want added to or removed from this ping list, please contact EveningStar or Paleo Conservative.
RIP.
I love the plane you built.
Consider that some of the world’s most successful planes and spacecraft like the 747, the Saturn V moon rocket and the SR-71 were products not of computers, but of slide rules and top engineers.
Thanks for the ping...I read his book a few months back “747: Creating the World’s First Jumbo Jet and Other Adventures from a Life in Aviation” and it was highly entertaining and informative.
I highly recommend it.
Just a gorgeous aircraft.
Some designs seem almost timeless and the 747 is surely one of them.
I wonder who designed the DC-3? The 707?
RIP
GReatest jet commercial craft ever.
Mom still wishes she could ride one.
“Sutter also made the pivotal decision to place the engines beneath the wing “where they belonged” rather than at the tail.”
His best decision ever.
The three rear engines of the 727 was a horrible design.
“Mom still wishes she could ride one.”
—
Why can’t she?
.
RIP
It is.
I have flown both upstairs and in the nose. Both of those are such unique experiences, really memorable.
She is almost 80, has troubles...including Dad who is still suffering from bypass and blockages, and...one HAS to go overseas but will still nit be guaranteed a 747.
“Slide rules and GREAT engineers” a CENTURY ago made wonders designed on pads of paper, under gas or sun light, and made using machines powered by water wheels driving forest of leather belts. And vast amounts of those things are still working today in 2016.
Last week I serviced and repaired a Waltham pocketwatch designed and made in 1857——yes 1857...three years before the CiVil War. The watch stood at the wall at Gettysburg , where Picket’s charge was repulsed.
Over a century later, it still runs like new, still accurate and dependable. That is ENGINEERING.
Thanks——I can sympathize—I will be 84 in 2 weeks.
(I have flown in a 747,though,back when flying was a tad more fun.)
.
Getting old is not for the faint of heart.
RIP!!
I’ve always been partial to seating near the wings for a smoother ride, but was seated in the nose of a 747 once for the novelty. Cool and a little discomfiting. You have a bit of a forward view due to the nose tapering before the windows end. I’ve been upstairs while in flight, but it was a lounge/bar area. A slight bit of rolling sensation, but very cool. Love the 747, pity that the packaging and basic form can’t be carried forward with a more modern craft.
YES INDEED!
GOD BLESS AMERICA!
First flew on one in 1976, last was a 400 model in 1996. Spent a lot of hours on them over the years, remarkable aircraft.
IIRC I flew from Detroit to Seoul non-stop, takeoff weight was around 650,000 lbs, 14.5 hour flight.
“Last week I serviced and repaired a Waltham pocketwatch designed and made in 1857——”
—
I have one from 1914 that still works.
.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.