Boeing taps old hand to design its latest jet

This longtime engineer has been involved in nearly all of the company's commercial jets.
EVERETT, Wash. (AP) -- Boeing Co.'s 7E7 jet, if launched as planned, will be the 25th commercial airplane model unveiled by the Western world, and the 11th jet from Boeing or McDonnell Douglas.
It also will be the last for engineer Walt Gillette, who in 37 years with Boeing has worked on nearly all of the company's commercial jets, from the 707 to the 777.
"I'm older than dirt," said Gillette, 61, who jokes that his very first plane project was the one flown by the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk in 1903.
Gillette is leading the design and development of the super-efficient 7E7 that Boeing hopes to enter into service in 2008 -- one year after Gillette expects to retire. The company's board of directors will decide whether to go ahead with the program by early 2004.
Still in awe
To the layperson, building airplanes seems to require a suspension of doubt if not an all-out suspension of gravity. How can a couple of engines and the mysterious physics of thrust, lift and drag help several tons of aluminum soar almost halfway around the world at speeds of 600 miles an hour?
It's still a wonder to Gillette, too.
"One of the most incredible experiences is to go out ... and stand [in] the middle of full landing gear of a 747," Gillette said. "To stand there, right there under that big fat huge machine, and you think this thing goes 625 miles an hour and a little bitty human brain ... tells it exactly what to do and where to go, and it follows just like a docile family pet."
Gillette has long been fascinated by making things soar.
Born in Texas, Gillette, known for his dry wit and in-depth knowledge on any subject, developed an interest in planes as a child. His uncle, a B-17 pilot in World War II, came back home with captivating stories.
But it wasn't so much the war itself that fascinated him; it was the power of the plane.
"Our airplanes are not only machines -- they are peacemakers," Gillette said. "Because nothing is going to achieve world peace in the long term like, we travel and we walk each other's streets and we visit each other's homes and we sit in a sidewalk cafe in some other country and we watch people go by. It completely demystifies other cultures."
He went on to the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned his bachelor's of science and master's degrees in aerospace engineering while also spending three summers working on the Apollo space program with NASA. He joined Boeing in 1966 as a research engineer in the Aerodynamics Research unit of the company's commercial airplane division.
"Boeing prides itself on creating the airplane the world needs the most at that time," Gillette said.
What's next
That next airplane, the company is betting, will be the 7E7.
As envisioned, the 7E7 will be a midsized, twin-aisle jet capable of long-range distance, 777-like speeds and the economics of 20 percent less fuel burn per passenger. It will offer more comfort than the 777 and have the most advanced technology.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes chief executive Alan Mulally said recently he is "pretty confident" that the 7E7 will be approved.
For now, Gillette's development team is grappling with questions such as how large the engines should be, the size of the tail, and how much thrust is needed. More detailed design will begin in early 2005.