Visions of Flight: Boeing Tests Pilots on Their Lives and Careers

Seven Boeing test pilots shed light on their intense determination to become test pilots and their passion in rigorously testing commercial airplanes for maximum performance and safety. Their paths to their careers were hard won, requiring extensive education, flying experience, and grit. Among them are four chief test pilots involved in the design and development of the 737, 747, 787, and 777X, and the first Boeing woman pilot, the first Boeing woman test pilot, and a woman project test pilot for the 787 and 777X. They recount their struggles to achieve the nearly impossible goal of becoming a Boeing test pilot and explain the exhaustive number and types of flight tests they perform on commercial airplanes. Ironically, while well-known to the company and airline executives, these test pilots are not well-known to most Boeing employees and the flying public. It is high time their stories were told.