This Boeing test pilot combines a passion for flight with science By Candace Barron and photo by Ron Bookout “I have been able to satisfy an inner excitement for flying in more than 50 different types of aircraft in more than a hundred different ways at top speeds.” – Joe Felock, Boeing Test & Evaluation pilot BOEING FRONTIERS / JULY 2013 11 Aptitude for flight Joe Felock, a Boeing Test & Evaluation pilot, not only pushes the envelope of Boeing’s hottest fighters, but he’s also an Associate Technical Fellow with a strong engineering background. In this Frontiers series that profiles employees talking about their jobs, Felock explains what it means to be a significant part of a technical team at Boeing. In those old, black-and-white newsreel days, a pilot took off in an experimental aircraft not really sure if he was coming back. That was a time when the pilots were the engineers and the engineers were the pilots. They designed, tested and tweaked new methods of flight all at the same time, almost as fast as their airplanes could fly. We don’t wear goggles anymore. And luckily, we don’t need long silk scarves to wipe the oil off of them. We’ve gotten a lot better at designing airplanes, so test flights aren’t nearly as dangerous. But even with all the advances we’ve seen in powered flight, technical aptitude and expertise are as important today to every Boeing test pilot as they were 100 years ago. I’m a Boeing Test & Evaluation pilot for the F-15, F/A-18 and proprietary programs. So I have been able to satisfy an inner excitement for flying in more than 50 different types of aircraft in more than a hundred different ways at top speeds. I’m also a new member of the Boeing Technical Fellowship, and it feels good to be recognized as a significant part of the technical team. As an engineer, I fulfill my intellectual curiosity and sense of wonder by pushing the laws of science to seemingly defy gravity. There’s no feeling in the world quite like flying an airplane, especially a fighter like the F-15. But even though I spend a good amount of time in a cockpit, I see my role as being more like a translator. I take what the aviators in the field say that they need from the airplane, and I translate that to my fellow engineers who are actually designing all the different parts that go together. We can’t design our own pieces of the puzzle in a vacuum; we have to ensure the system works in whole to meet the end user’s needs. I always liked airplanes. My dad flew EC-121s and EC-47s for the U.S. Air Force in Vietnam. He was one of those old- school fliers, and I grew up not really thinking there was any other option for me other than being a pilot like Dad. Unlike a lot of other aspiring young pilots, though, I had a knack for science and math that made me sort of stick out. And by the time I joined my college ROTC program, the U.S. Air Force had lots of wannabe pilots, but not nearly enough engineers. So I went full-throttle toward an engineering degree. In return, the Air Force offered me a pilot slot, and I became an engineer wannabe who got to fly fighters. Most pilots simply love to fly. But I’m a bit unusual because I don’t fly just for the sake of flying. My sense of satisfaction comes with accomplishing specific technical goals on every test flight. When we’re talking about the safety and trust of those aboard and the people who rely on these individuals, nothing is more important to me than making sure all Boeing aircraft work the way they need to. n candace.k.barron@boeing.com
Frontiers July 2013 Issue
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