Joseph Frederick Sutter (March 21, 1921 – August 30, 2016) was an American engineer for the Boeing Airplane Company and manager of the design team for the

Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...

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Malcolm T. Stamper Malcolm Stamper (April 4, 1925 – June 14, 2005) was the longest serving president in Boeing's history and was best known for leading 50,000 people in the race to build the 747 jetliner. Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Stamper joined Boei ...

, the head of the 747 project. '' Air & Space/Smithsonian'' magazine has described Sutter as the "father of the 747".

Early life and education

Sutter was born in Seattle, Washington, and grew up in the vicinity of Boeing's Seattle plant. He was of

Slovenian Slovene or Slovenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe * Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia * Slovenes The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( sl, Sloven ...

descent—his father, Franc Suhadolc (1879–1945) from Dobrova, Slovenia, came to America as a gold prospector. Sutter attended the University of Washington and graduated with a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering in 1943.Ronald Reagan Presidential Library: Appointment of Joseph F. Sutter as a Member of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident
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Career

In 1940, Sutter took a summer job at Boeing Plant 2 while studying aeronautical engineering at the University of Washington. Sutter served as a junior officer aboard the destroyer escort in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He was a young U.S. Navy veteran finishing his degree when both Boeing and

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offered him jobs. Boeing believed in

jet aircraft A jet aircraft (or simply jet) is an aircraft (nearly always a fixed-wing aircraft) propelled by jet engines. Whereas the engines in propeller-powered aircraft generally achieve their maximum efficiency at much lower speeds and altitudes, je ...

, so he went there. Former Boeing executive

Jim Albaugh James F. Albaugh (born May 31, 1950) is the former executive vice president of The Boeing Company and chief executive officer of the Boeing Commercial Airplanes business unit. He served in these capacities for Boeing Commercial Airplanes from S ...

believes Douglas would probably own Boeing today if it went otherwise. At Boeing, Sutter worked on many commercial airplane projects, including the

367-80 The Boeing 367-80, known simply as the Dash 80, is an American quadjet prototype aircraft built by Boeing to demonstrate the advantages of jet propulsion for commercial aviation. It served as basis for the design of the KC-135 tanker and the Boe ...

"Dash 80",

707 707 may refer to: * 707 (number), a number * 707 (band), an American rock band * AD 707, a year in the 8th century * 707 BC, a year in the 8th century BC * The 7 July 2005 London bombings, a terrorist attack * 707th Special Mission Unit, a military ...

, 727 and

737 737 most commonly refers to: * Boeing 737, an American narrow-body passenger airplane ** Boeing 737 Classic ** Boeing 737 MAX ** Boeing 737 Next Generation * AD 737, a year in the common era * 737 BC, a year * 737 (number), a number 737 may als ...

. He eventually became a manager for the new jumbo-sized wide body airplane, the four-engine

. 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". Sutter's final job was as executive vice president for commercial airplane engineering and product development when he retired from Boeing in 1986.

Later life

Sutter served on the

Rogers Commission The Rogers Commission Report was written by a Presidential Commission charged with investigating the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster during its 10th mission, STS-51-L. The report, released and submitted to President Ronald Reagan on Jun ...

, investigating the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster. He was also selected as a recipient of the International Air Cargo Association's 2002 Hall of Fame Award and was an engineering

sales consultant Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. The seller, or the provider of the goods or services, completes a sale in ...

. 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 the Boeing 737 or a re-engine of the then-current design, the latter ultimately chosen and later marketed as the Boeing 737 MAX. For decades, he resided in West 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 in Bremerton, Washington from complications of pneumonia, at the age of 95.

Book

Aviation author and historian Jay Spenser worked closely with Sutter for 18 months to write his autobiography, entitled ''747: Creating the World's First Jumbo Jet and Other Adventures from a Life in Aviation'' (). It was published by Smithsonian Books/ HarperCollins as a

hardcover A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as case-bound) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy paper, or occa ...

in 2006 and as a paperback 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, the 747-400 of 1989, and the

747-8 The Boeing 747-8 is a wide-body airliner formerly developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, and the largest variant of the 747. After introducing the 747-400, Boeing considered larger 747 versions as alternatives to the proposed double-deck ...

Awards

* 1985 United States Medal of Technology award. For his contributions to the development of commercial jet aircraft.US Government list: The National Medal Of Technology Recipients
Retrieved August 18, 2019.

References

External links

Boeing: Remembering an 'Incredible' legend
a blog entry tributed to Joe Sutter
The Sutter twist – an engineering story
a Wing twist named after him {{DEFAULTSORT:Sutter, Joseph 1921 births 2016 deaths American aerospace engineers United States Navy personnel of World War II American people of Slovenian descent Boeing people National Medal of Technology recipients Writers from Seattle United States Navy officers University of Washington College of Engineering alumni