Joe Sutter | |
|---|---|
 Sutter in 2006 | |
| Born | March 21, 1921 Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Died | August 30, 2016(2016-08-30) (aged 95) Bremerton, Washington, U.S. |
| Education | University of Washington (BS) |
| Employer | Boeing Commercial Airplanes |
| Known for | Chief engineer for the development of theBoeing 747 |
| Notable work | 747: Creating the World's First Jumbo Jet and Other Adventures from a Life in Aviation |
| Spouse | Nancy French[1] |
| Children | 3 |
| Awards | United States Medal of Technology(1985) Daniel Guggenheim Medal(1990) American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Aircraft Award Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy[2] |
Joseph Frederick Sutter (March 21, 1921 – August 30, 2016) was an American engineer for theBoeing Airplane Company and manager of the design team for theBoeing 747 underMalcolm T. Stamper, the head of the 747 project.[3]Air & Space/Smithsonian magazine has described Sutter as the "father of the 747".[4]
Sutter was born inSeattle, Washington, and grew up in the vicinity of Boeing's Seattle plant.[5] He was ofSlovenian descent—his father, Franc Suhadolc (1879–1945) fromDobrova, Slovenia, moved to the US as agold prospector. Sutter attended theUniversity of Washington and graduated with abachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering in 1943.[6]
In 1940, Sutter took a summer job atBoeing Plant 2 while studying aeronautical engineering at theUniversity of Washington. Sutter served as a junior officer aboard thedestroyer escortUSS Edward H. Allen (DE-531) in theU.S. Navy duringWorld War II.
He was a young U.S. Navy veteran finishing his degree when both Boeing andDouglas offered him jobs. Boeing believed injet aircraft, so he went there. Former Boeing executiveJim Albaugh believes Douglas would probably own Boeing today if it went otherwise.[7]
At Boeing, Sutter worked on many commercial airplane projects, including the367-80 "Dash 80",707,727 and737. He eventually became a manager for the new jumbo-sized wide body airplane, the four-engineBoeing 747. As chief engineer, he led the 747 design and build team from conception in 1965 to rollout in 1969. He would become known as the "father of the 747".[8]
Sutter's final job was as executive vice president for commercial airplane engineering and product development when he retired from Boeing in 1986.[5]
Sutter served on theRogers Commission, investigating theSpace ShuttleChallenger disaster. He was also selected as a recipient of the International Air Cargo Association's 2002 Hall of Fame Award and was an engineeringsales consultant.[9][10] As of July 2010, he was a member of the Boeing Senior Advisory Group which was studying the alternatives of a clean sheet replacement of theBoeing 737 or a re-engine of the then-current design, the latter ultimately chosen and later marketed as theBoeing 737 MAX.[11] For decades, he resided inWest Seattle. In 2011, on his 90th birthday, Boeing's 40-87 building in Everett, WA, the main engineering building for Boeing Commercial Airplanes division, was renamed the Joe Sutter building. Sutter died on August 30, 2016, at a hospital inBremerton, Washington, from complications ofpneumonia, at the age of 95.[12]
He is memorialized byAtlas Air's final 747 (N863GT), the 1,574th and final 747 ever made by the company, via a sticker with a picture of him, the first ever 747, his name, and the words "Forever Incredible". Atlas Air took delivery of the aircraft on January 31, 2023.
Aviation author and historian Jay Spenser worked closely with Sutter for 18 months to write his autobiography, entitled747: Creating the World's First Jumbo Jet and Other Adventures from a Life in Aviation (ISBN 0-06-088241-7). It was published bySmithsonian Books/HarperCollins as ahardcover in 2006 and as apaperback in 2007. This book tells of Sutter's childhood and describes his life and 40-year career at Boeing.
The book details Sutter's tenure as chief engineer of the development of the 747 and elaborates on its design, manufacturing, testing, certification, and delivery to the world's airlines. The book also describes subsequent models of the 747 and the two major-derivative updates to the type, the747-400 of 1989, and the747-8.[13]
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