airliners.net
Bob Stoney
Aircraft Information
Aircraft Make: Boeing
Aircraft Model: 747
Aircraft Nickname: Queen of the Skies, The Whale
Aircraft Mil Civ Description: Large Jet
Category: Airplane
Class: Multi Engine Land
Engine Description: 3 or more Engine
The Boeing Company
First Flown Information
Sequence First Flown:
Date First Flown: 04/13/2007
Location First Flown: KBFI Boeing Field, WA
Who and/or What Organization First Flown With: Boeing flight test, including Paul and Henry. And my Skillet buddy Rip.
Aircraft Experience
As of: 07/22/2020
Number of Hours Flown: 665
Number of Times Flown: 234
Other Aircraft Models Associated: 747LCF, 747-400, 747-8F, 747-8Pax
Recollections:
In my write-up for the 737 I mention that it used to be my favorite…and that was true, until I flew “The Whale”. Simply put, this GIANT airplane flies like a dream. It does what you want it to do when you want it to do it. How’s that for technical test pilot talk?
My first flight in the Boeing 747 was actually in the “Large Cargo Freighter”. I wasn’t rated in the 747 so my pre-flight preparation consisted of studying the books and I think I went for a sim session at Boeing’s LongAcres simulator site (R.I.P.) down the street from the FAA office (having that facility so close was such a great thing…but it didn’t last, as Boeing decided to consolidate their training facility as far away as possible…Miami, FL). So, there I was, ready to fly the biggest Boeing…and this one even bigger than standard. The Large Cargo Freighter (LCF) was designed to carry big pieces of the 787 (wings, fuselage sections, empennage) from their far flung manufacturing facilities in Japan, South Carolina and Italy to the assembly plant in Everett, WA. An interesting manufacturing concept that, I hope, has some advantages. Anyway, before the 787 could be built and certified, Boeing had to build and certify the LCF. Talk about a house of cards…but they did it! So, there I was, several years before the 787 would have it’s first flight, helping to certify the LCF. My first flight involved a test of the Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS), including the Radio Altimeter (RADALT). The flying included, among other conditions, pointing the airplane at the deck, in this case over Banks Lake in Eastern Washington, and waiting for the “PULL UP, PULL UP” GPWS warning. I’d been flying the airplane for maybe an hour when we did this condition diving at the ground and the thoughts occurred to me “Have I prepared enough?” and “Have I done sufficient build-up?” But, it also occured to me that the answer was a resounding “yes!” and that was due mostly to the wonderful Handling Qualities that even the giant LCF (with it’s “battleship-like” rivets and funny shape) had.
Later it was my please to be the FAA’s lead pilot on certification of the new “Queen”, the 747-8. And, if the LCF flew great, the “dash 8” was the greatest. It was a gorgeous airplane to look at and a wonderful one to fly. Because the 787 program was happening at roughly the same time period, I–and my fantastic lead FTE John Neff–ended up doing most of the flying on the 747-8 program, flying with Mark, Buzz, Leon, Rick, Paul, Keith, Frank, Gerry, Doug, Tom, Barry, Kirk, Stu, John, and Pat. And so many wonderful engineers and FTE’s. I got to basically do every test technique there is, including a Max Brake energy, Minimum Unstick, takeoff and landing performance and enough S&C, Ice Shapes and systems testing to form a career. I got to do the Heaviest takeoff ever for a Boeing airplane (over 1M lb). I flew a flight that only lasted 6 minutes (a single takeoff condition with an Autopilot Hardover test and immediate return to land), and a function and reliability test that lasted 18 hours. She always flew like a dream and that’s why she’s my “favorite Boeing”.
