A & S Interview: Joe Sutter
The "Father of the 747" talks about the famed airliner's birth.
- By Bettina Chavanne
- Air & Space magazine, January 2007
(Page 2 of 2)
Sutter: On a commercial plane, the specifications between Boeing and the customer are 50 pages, whereas for the military, it’s thousands of documents. With military aircraft, there’s a tremendous amount of overhead that doesn’t add anything to the process or the project. With commercial aircraft, it’s a much more direct effort. The airline buys an airplane to do a certain job, and the company has to build an airplane to make that commitment and then get it certified. It’s a more direct approach.
A&S: For years, Douglas and Boeing were locked in a tight technological race that Boeing eventually won. What was the determining factor?
Sutter: Boeing has always had people at the top that were inclined toward the future and had the ability to convince management to spend money on the future. After the war, they were building B-17s and B-29s, whereas Douglas had been building transports during the war. But Boeing saw that people wanted more efficient, faster airplanes…. Boeing saw that the combination of a swept-wing and jet engine was the future of aviation. They built their own prototype and decided, "Let’s get into the business. We’re going to have a whole family of planes to cover long-range and domestic." They never took their eye off the ball. … Douglas kept looking at the fact that military contracts are reliable—government money. Commercial airplanes are your own money. That made Douglas shy away from risky investment in commercial planes.
Looking at it, no one in his right mind would want to get into this business. When you make the commitment, you’re stuck with it. You don’t start getting your money back for at least five years, so you bet the company each time you do a new project. Boeing has that culture, which comes from way back. It’s stayed with them since then.
Comments (6)
If I ever had the chance to meet Joe sutter in real life it would be a dream come true. I learned about him in a school project and he is amazing!
Posted by Alyssa Mattingly on May 1,2008 | 01:24 PM
On May 12 - 14, 2008 I attended a PanAm reunion in Couer D'Alene, Idaho. About 400 of us gathered to talk about the good old days, and we were fortunate to have Joe Sutter as one of the speakers. What a wonderful man! I wish I had a recording of his 45 minute talk. Since I was a Flight Engineer on one of the inaugural flights in early 1970 it was very special to meet Joe and share a few stories with him. I have sent for his book.
Posted by Thomas Kewin on May 18,2008 | 10:07 PM
The only time I have to sit down and read is when I'm on the loo. I have just read the 747 book and was so inpressed that I spent most of the day in the restroom!!
People like Sutter to me are like the pope is to catholics, I would be honored to have his email address
My company has a new generation solar heating system and Mr Sutter's achievements give me the incentive to succeed. I say "if Sutter managed the 747 then I will manage my solar panels!!"
Thank you
stuart ford
france
Posted by stuart ford france on November 12,2008 | 03:54 PM
The Day I got to meet Joe Sutter was impressive. He had invited me to see him with my new escape system, he'd seen demonstrated for upper deck cockpits and cabins. Joe was relaxed and reminded me of a cool Walter Matthau, with wisdom, power and commitment to take risks and solve problems. He was worried about the Upper Deck (designed only for a crew rest)...Juan Trippe and his famous consultant (Charles Lindberg) changed Joe's mind when they saw Joe's patent drawing and said, "We're going to put passengers up there. Joe's concern was getting them down safely in an evacuation...especially if there was a wind. We tested the systems for Boeing. We sold the first ones to Lockheed for the C5. Joe liked the systems. He, Allen and colleagues had the courage to bet on the future. Joe had the guts to leave the ruts. Another forward thinking colleague was Richard Ostlund, Interiors Engineer who encouraged us to introduce our newest system that will remove up to 3600 lbs of (zero fuel weight)weight from the B747-400 or B747-8, 777s and A380 (the weight of 12-15 passengers at every takeoff). I thank the FAA Administrator in Seattle for getting me the appointment with Sutter. I like Joe...He is one of Aviation's greatest heroes.
Posted by Tom Tracy on February 28,2009 | 12:10 PM
He is really a great engineer!
Posted by mamad sasmedi on March 2,2011 | 12:11 AM
Does Joseph Sutter have any children?
Posted by Bella Benson on January 28,2012 | 03:42 PM