visits here and thank us for what the plane can do,” he said. Michael Diaspro, a Major Join mechanic, said he takes the pilots’ stories personally. “People’s lives depend on it. People have described the C-17 as overbuilt, but that’s probably a good thing.” The C-17 also has served as “To see that last one flying out, that probably will be the most difficult thing to watch. The finality ... will be something that will take a little while to fully grasp.” —Ron Gill, Technical Fellow and C-17 manufacturing engineer March 2015 33 received the United States’ top award for quality—the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award—for 1998. Additionally, C-17s have set 33 world records during their test flights. For the employees who designed and built the aircraft, however, the most meaningful praise over the years for the C-17’s performance has come from the military pilots and crew who fly the aircraft, sometimes in harrowing conditions, said Craig Johnson, team leader on the wing-half join. “They will pull us aside during their Photos: (Far left) Structure mechanic Robert Williams performs work on a vertical stabilizer. (Below) One of the last C-17s to be built at the Long Beach plant progresses through final assembly in late January. program manager for the C-17. He added that the new approach taken on the program then included ideas, such as greater employee involvement, that are now used across Boeing. “We empowered the teams from the top down. I think that’s what made it an outstanding program, with us continuously improving the aircraft.” The C-17 won the prestigious Collier Trophy for 1994, symbolizing the top aeronautical achievement of that year. Boeing Airlift and Tanker Programs, maker of the C-17, also “It’s one of the top-of-the-line workhorses out there. In terms of reliability, this is the best they’ve got. … You’re like a little kid when you see one take off. You can say, ‘I did something on that.’ ” —Richard Crocker, structure mechanic
Frontiers March 2015 Issue
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