Ideas take flight JAMES CLAYTON James Clayton didn’t feel guilty leaving the family farm on the Yakama Indian Reservation in Eastern Washington state to pursue an engineering degree. “Luckily I have two older brothers who stuck around to help out,” he said. After earning undergraduate and graduate degrees in civil engineering and structures and structural mechanics, Clayton knew he wanted to put his education to work at Boeing. “I grew up in the Northwest, and have always had a fascination with airplanes,” he said. “In first grade, I had photos of P-51 fighters on my notebook.” As a young engineer, Clayton started working on the 767 program designing the horizontal stabilizer and the floor support structure for the airplane’s fuselage. His work was soon noticed by Boeing Defense, Space & Security, which has requested his assistance on a variety of programs including the P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft and the KC-46A tanker. One of the most rewarding aspects of being an engineer, Clayton said, has been watching his ideas take flight from the runway. But the highlight of his career has been working alongside brilliant technical colleagues. “During my career, I was very fortunate to be a member of groups that had very senior engineers,” he said. “I’ve learned that you have to find those senior folks and learn what you can from them.” n PHOTO: BOB FERGUSON/BOEING jillian.r.hulings@boeing.com Frontiers May 2014 41
Frontiers May 2014 Issue
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