JOSEPH F. SUTTER (1921-2016)

BY MICHAEL K. SINNETT

JOSEPH FREDERICK SUTTER is best known as “the father of the 747.” That is unquestionably true, though Joe himself would say that if he was the father of the 747, then so were Juan Trippe, head of Pan American Airlines, and Bill Allen, head of Boeing. In his eyes, there were three fathers. Joe was just that way — he gave credit where it was due but rarely took it himself. He was certainly the father of the first successful jumbo jet, but he was also so much more.

Joe was born March 21, 1921, to parents who emigrated from Eastern Europe. His father, Frank Suhadolc, was a Slovenian whose name was changed at Ellis Island, and who originally sought his fortune as a prospector in Alaska. Eventually, Frank settled as a meat cutter in Seattle. Joe’s mother, Rose, came from Austria-Hungary. Together Frank and Rose made their family home in the Beacon Hill district of South Seattle, where Joe was raised.

Like so many future aeronautical engineers, Joe grew up building and flying model airplanes. It was a hands-on approach to learning that served many aspiring designers well. “If it looks right, it flies right” was an early lesson he learned. Joe was doubly blessed because the family home was not far from a growing airplane company named Boeing. He often rode his bike to a hill overlooking Boeing’s operations, thrilled to see a new airplane taking off or landing. During these formative years, he decided he wanted to be an airplane designer.

As a teenager, Joe was introduced to the world of design considerations in airplane safety after a Boeing Stratoliner crashed during its flight test phase. From his experience building airplane models and his knowledge of Model 314 Clipper Flying Boat directional control issues, he believed the Stratoliner’s vertical tail was too small for adequate directional stability and control. Months later, he saw the debut of a Stratoliner with a redesigned, larger vertical tail and realized he had been right. This only intensified his desire to learn more about airplane design.

Joe began his formal aeronautical engineering education at the University of Washington in Seattle, just as Hitler’s armies were rolling into Poland in the fall of 1939. A strong student, he found math and science to be relatively easy. He also joined the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) when he entered university. During the summer before his senior year, he took a job at Boeing as a mechanic, launching his aerospace career. Despite his academic load, NROTC commitments, and job at Boeing, Joe still found time to meet his future wife, Nancy, at an NROTC dance during his junior year. In the spring of 1943, within a 48-hour period, Joe graduated with a Bachelor of Science in aeronautical engineering, married Nancy, and received orders to report for duty as an ensign in the U.S. Navy.

During World War II, Joe served on the destroyer escort USS Edward H. Allen, stationed at various locations along the U.S. East Coast. His duties involved escorting convoys to protect them from German U-boats. Near the end of the war, he was reassigned to Memphis for training as an aviation engineer. After training, he was posted to Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands, where he completed his naval service in 1946. While there, he received job offers from both Boeing in Seattle and Douglas in Long Beach, California.

Joe and Nancy decided it would be fun to explore California, and Douglas offered $10 more per month than Boeing, so they planned to move to Long Beach. But nature intervened: Nancy was far enough along in her first pregnancy that they decided to put Douglas on hold and arrange temporary employment with Boeing instead.

Joe started his first “temporary” assignment at Boeing in February 1946. While he is primarily remembered for ushering in intercontinental jet transportation for the masses, his first responsibility was on a propeller airplane. Boeing’s model 377 Stratocruiser was built upon the basic architecture of the B-29 Superfortress, which in its day was the most technically advanced and complex large propeller airplane. The fuselage was modified into a double-deck configuration, and more than 50 were sold to airlines. He helped resolve the final technical challenges and worked to get the airplane through flight testing, certification, and into airline fleets. There is no better practical education for a future chief engineer of an airplane than taking an aircraft through flight testing, certification, and initial entry into service. This experience served Joe well.

He entered the jet age as an aerodynamics test and configuration engineer on the Model 367-80, the prototype for both the KC-135 and the 707. He worked on analyzing and testing low-speed performance, eventually setting the final configuration of the wing. Known as the “Dash 80,” the airplane served as both a test asset and a demonstrator. Joe had his first experiences with airline customers when he accompanied executives, engineers, and pilots on demonstration flights. These foundational experiences prepared him for his next role leading the aerodynamics team on the 707, this time with the added responsibility of airplane certification in the United States and abroad.

Airlines loved the intercontinental range and performance of the 707 and asked Boeing to develop a short-range jet airplane that could operate on shorter runways. In response, the Boeing 727 program was launched on Dec. 5, 1960. Joe was assigned to lead the aerodynamics team and soon took responsibility for leading the entire technical team, expanding his leadership to the full airplane. This quickly led to the development of a smaller, shorter-range aircraft, the 737. Launched in 1965, it entered service with Lufthansa in early 1968. Joe played a significant role in shaping the airplane’s overall configuration and held a patent for the placement of the engines under the wings.

Shortly after his work on the 737, Pan American Airways founder Juan Trippe pushed Boeing to develop a much larger, longer-range jet that would take advantage of the turbofan engine. At this time, most of Boeing was focused on the supersonic jet program called the Boeing 2707, while others were completing development of the 737-100. As a result, in 1965, the technical development of the 747 — an aircraft twice the size of a 707 — fell to Joe.

The initial design was a full double-deck aircraft, but that configuration proved impractical. Instead, the cabin was widened to accommodate all passengers on a spacious main deck. A freighter version had always been envisioned, featuring a large nose cargo door that required the flight deck to be placed above the forward fuselage. This design choice led to an aerodynamic fairing blending the flight deck into the upper fuselage. Eventually, engineers determined that this space could accommodate passengers during flight, and it was later certified for additional seating during takeoff and landing. As configuration matured, so did the new Pratt & Whitney JT9D engines.

Just 29 months after its launch, the airplane rolled out of Boeing’s massive Everett, Washington, factory. Overcoming enormous design and production challenges, Joe successfully led the design, testing, and certification of the aircraft, which entered service with Pan Am in January 1970. It is no exaggeration to say that the 747, of which 1,574 were eventually built, changed the way the world traveled. For the first time in history, safe, comfortable, and efficient intercontinental travel was accessible and affordable for more than just the super-rich. The 747 reshaped global connectivity, allowing people to experience new cultures and places in ways that had never been possible.

In the years following the introduction of the 747, Joe took on larger roles with greater responsibility, eventually leading engineering and product development for Boeing’s commercial airplanes. Despite this, his first love — aside from Nancy — was always the 747. However, he was also a strong proponent of the 777 family, recognizing that it could perform nearly all of the 747’s missions but with much greater efficiency using only two engines. The success of the 777 ultimately led to the end of 747 production in 2023, with the final 747-8F delivered to Atlas Air on Jan. 31, 2023 — 53 years after the first 747 entered service.

Joe continued to contribute to Boeing in his later years. He received many honors, including election to the National Academy of Engineering in 1984 and the U.S. National Medal of Technology, which he received from President Ronald Reagan in a White House ceremony in 1985. In January 1986, he was appointed to the presidential commission investigating the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. The commission was tasked with determining the probable cause of the accident and making recommendations for corrective action, with a strict 120-day deadline. On June 6, 1986 — just five days after he retired from Boeing — Joe was back in the White House, presenting the final report to the president.

Even after retirement, Joe kept an office at Boeing’s commercial headquarters for nearly three decades. He remained actively involved in aircraft development until almost the very end, serving as a member of Boeing’s Senior Advisory Group. He passed away from complications of pneumonia on Aug. 30, 2016, after a brief hospital stay. His wife, Nancy, passed in 1998. Joe is survived by his son, Jonathan; daughters, Gabrielle and Adrienne; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

On a personal note, I joined Boeing in January 1991, and my first assignment was on the 747-400. I held many positions and eventually became the chief engineer of the 787 during flight testing and certification of the 787-8 and -9. One of the highlights of my career was having Joe as a mentor during the 787 program. He often provided advice and counsel — sometimes very directly. I learned so much from him. I specifically recall a particularly difficult period when Joe told me, “Mike, you don’t look so good.” I took the weekend off and felt much better. Later, I became vice president of product development, a role Joe himself once held. We continued to chat fairly regularly, and he frequently visited the office to discuss the latest developments in airplane design. Just weeks before Joe passed, he helped us think through some major configuration decisions on the airplane that is now known as the 737-10.

Joe was a very beloved figure at Boeing, and he is still missed today. His legacy lives on.