she took on the Flypaper project. Borrowing from her Boeing expertise, Benson made sure her paper airplanes had folding wingtips, too. Two things were important to her in crafting the paper airplanes: The center of gravity had to be just right, to ensure airworthiness, and the bigger the wings, the better the glide. Otherwise, she fell back on the problem-solving principles that guide her in her job, she said. “This is where the engineering comes in,” Benson said. “It’s ‘OK, this doesn’t work; try this.’ The ability to troubleshoot is important. We build something, but the ability to make change is so important. “Here it was, ‘How do you balance the weight on the paper or how can you fold that?’ ” The three engineers recently met in Everett for the first time, comparing and simultaneously tossing their paper airplanes. A Boeing lobby was their runway, a circular couch their flight deck. Imagination was the flight plan. • DANIEL.W.RALEY@BOEING.COM To buy Boeing Flypaper, visit your local Boeing Store or BoeingStore.com. FEBRUARY 2016 | 29 and understand. It can also inspire them to think more seriously about a future career in science and technology.” The opportunity to combine science with art led Boeing to Benson, Chengalva and Sonnabend, who submitted designs for the Flypaper project, which was created by the FCB advertising agency. Thirty engineers originally were approached. Final designs received a numbered folding system for easy use. Chengalva, a Boeing structural methods lead engineer in Everett, Wash., folded paper airplanes as early as age 3 or 4 in India. He owns eight model airplanes, including a large 777X that he built with his kids. He organizes weekend hobby outings for groups of Boeing employees and their family members. He’s a true aviation enthusiast who took his Flypaper airplane assignment to heart. Chengalva said he went for a long structural design, similar to a real commercial airplane, to make it strong. He kept the center of gravity low for stability. He made sure to have plenty of wing area for lift. “It might look simple, but there is a lot of engineering in this,” said Chengalva, holding up an orange, black and green paper airplane. “It flies like a real airplane. It’s the same air that a 747 encounters. It’s a creature of the air.” Sonnabend spent much of her childhood traveling from her native New York state to Germany to visit family members. The long transoceanic flights, she said, inspired her to join the aerospace industry. “I wanted to work in a concentrated field where I could influence international travel and help connect the world,” Sonnabend said. She currently is acquiring hours to obtain her private pilot’s license, getting close to her first solo flight. Flypaper was just another way to further celebrate her love of aviation, she said. Sonnabend felt a little challenged at first in settling on a paper airplane design. The mechanical engineer works in Renton, Wash., on 737 landing gear and hydraulics—airplane parts that aren’t necessarily transferrable to a paper airframe. She went with something adventuresome for her paper airplane submission, which features canards, or small forewings, favored by some jet fighters and used on Boeing’s Sonic Cruiser, which was never built. Otherwise, Sonnabend said she concentrated on center of gravity, wanting it established as far forward in her paper airplane as she could make it. A broad wing surface also was important to her, ensuring a smooth flight. “Nobody inherently enjoys turbulence to start,” she said. “To mitigate that turbulent airflow is very important.” Benson was 5 or 6 when a babysitter taught her how to fold paper airplanes and together they tossed them into a sunken living room in Portland, Ore. It was a fun-filled moment that instantly had her mulling a career in aerospace, she explained. “It got me thinking analytically,” she said. “I developed an enjoyment of airplanes.” Benson, who is a structural analyst engineer for the 777X folding wingtip in Everett, tracked down that same babysitter for consultation when
Frontiers February 2016 Issue
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