10,000 pounds (4,500 kilograms) of fuel and additional “Every time I see an F-15 fly or weapon stations to the aircraft. The tanks enable the F-15 to carry heavy weapon loads long distances and I hear about its successful spend increased time in the combat area. combat mission record, I feel U.S. Air Force “dual role” fighter competition with the amazed and proud that I haveThe tanks were crucial to Boeing’s winning the F-15E Strike Eagle version, he said. The U.S. Air Force a hand in building it.” was looking for an aircraft that had both excellent air-to-air and long range air-to-ground capabilities – George Louis, F-15 sheet metal assembler riveter, St. Louis for “dual role” missions. The initial F-15 design came about in the 1960s when other aircraft were consistently being shot down in the Vietnam War. In the middle of the decade, the Air Force released a requirement for an air-to-air superiority aircraft. Boeing predecessor company McDonnell Douglas won that competition in 1969, and the F-15 Eagle was born. The fighter has never been defeated in air-to-air combat. Its perfect record—104 victories and zero defeats—is due to its maneuverability, advanced electronic equipment and extreme firepower, according to Heilmann. It’s a point not lost on the men and women who initially build the F-15 in the St. Louis factory, those who later perform the upgrades, or those who manage and support the program. “However big or small our part in building this plane, none of us take it lightly,” Southerland said. Added Louis: “Every time we hear it roaring off the runway we’re all reminded of the important role we play in the F-15’s amazing success record. The F-15 design is just something that clicked and I don’t see any end to its use. It’s phenomenal.” n PhOTO: (Below) The F-15 Silent Eagle’s stealth technology makes kelli.j.blue@boeing.com it less visible to an enemy’s radar. BOEING (Insets) Theotric Jackson (clockwise from top left), Bob Southerland and George Louis are sheet metal assembler riveters on the F-15 line in St. Louis. RON BOOkOuT/BOEING 38 BOEING FRONTIERS / OCTOBER 2012
Frontiers October 2012 Issue
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