Both pioneers in the aviation industry, Donald Douglas and James McDonnell ran their own respective companies until their 1967 merger created the giant McDonnell Douglas Corporation. Each company contributed immensely to the art, science and legend of manned flight and space exploration, and you can learn more about them at Boeing's history pages or Wikipedia.
A true passion of mine since childhood has always been aerospace or simply flying. As a child, I dreamt of becoming an astronaut. As life sometimes does - my plans required a detour. In this case it was the double-whammy of the Soviet Grain Embargo and Arab Fuel crisis, which put a huge hurt on my hometown area. During the late 1970's, unemployment in this agriculture and manufacturing area was off by 25%+. As a result, my brother and my college savings plans were used for more pressing matters (aka food and shelter).
Undaunted, during junior high and high school I signed up for one of the country's first high school computer science courses, where I received straight A grades. Also during the early 1980's and thanks to generous (or visionary) state funding for aerospace education, our high school offered a 1-year aerospace fundamentals course, including the state's first aircraft flight simulator - very high tech for 1983!
When I took the military ASVAP tests, I scored high enough to take my pick of Military Occupational Specialties (MOS). I wound up becoming an aircraft avionics technician, where I'd learn all the aircraft systems, along most flight and engine basics that pilots learned. After leaving the service - dozens of my former squadron mates were all heading to the huge Douglas Aircraft plant in Long Beach. Without delay, I applied and began the long wait to start my future building jet aircraft.
Originally hired as an inspector, I was assigned to the specialized First Article Inspection (FAI) team on the brand-new MD-11 jumbo jet. Working out of the Product Development area in building #1, and along with two counterparts, we were responsible for reviewing and approving each new or materially modified system that was destined for the aircraft. We worked closely with the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and their appointed designee inspectors, or DMIR's (D-meers). After design approval in the development area, we'd conduct an even more exhaustive installation inspection once the new product or component was initially installed on the first aircraft to receive said new or revised system.
After a year performing FAI inspections, management took an interest in my skills, and encouraged me to join the salaried ranks as a Quality Planner (QP). This department worked to ensure sufficient inspection points were included in the thousands of various instructional build documents (AO's, AAO's) used by the dozens manufacturing (assembly) departments. As you can imagine - building a modern jumbo jet is a complex undertaking. Working with the production planners, we ensured that such "build-papers" had sufficient information about particular engineering, FAA or QA requirements called out at proper steps of each task.
Once again - after a year with the QP group, I was now asked by senior QA leadership to join a new team, called Zone Captains. This was a "tiger-team" of cross-functional experts from Manufacturing, Design Engineering and Quality Assurance. Each of us were assigned to spearhead significant quality improvements within a given area of the aircraft. My two areas? The three huge jet engines and the cockpit avionics systems. Looking back, I should have felt a better appreciation for the daunting level of work required, not to mention the many sets of eyes watching my progress. However - all I saw was a huge chess set, and I was a young Bobby Fischer, eagerly awaiting for the game to start. Over the next year, I dramatically reduced the number and severity of non-conformances (industry speak for errors) in both these areas. Our efforts were covered in "Quality" magazine's September 1993 issue (p15-17).
By this time - my 3rd year with DAC, I was an expert in many aspects of the aircraft systems, who designed them, which group installed them and which procedures covered the criteria governing each of these activities. As such I was moved into the Quality Engineering group, where I'd stay for the next 3 years. Here I was a prinicipal avionics investigator for the company. I dealt with many crucial and visible issues, including lightning strike protection, WIT and FACT testing (comprehensive aircraft system and wire harness testing), Certified Operations and high-voltage power system issues.
At one point, I was invited by the company president, Bob Hood, to attend a ceremonial trade signing event, hosted by President Bill Clinton. It was to recognize the extension of the Sino-American "Trunkliner" agreement, allowing the Chinese to continue building MD-80 aircraft under license. Despite our loathing to see a competitors product fly in (Boeing's Air Force One), we were all thrilled to have the beautiful jet land in front of us, taxi up and off climbs President Clinton, who was later joined by President Hood, Senators Boxer and Feinstein.
The work on the production line was exhilarating and exhausting at the same time, due to the sheer number of variables. Some managers were under incredible pressure to meet schedule commitments. Aircraft delivered late could cost the company $100k for every day of delay, as airlines scheduling flights (and sold seats) before the jet was even built! Some inexperienced staff took liberal interpretations with some electrical installation or inspection requirements. Items they'd approve could become expensive and time-consuming rework items further down the manufacturing line. Reworking something as complex as a MD-11 "out of position" (OOP) even a few days, let alone a few weeks or months, could involve serious rework. Previously installed equipment, interiors, hydraulic systems and other specialties had to be removed, reassembled and re-inspected. By 1995 - there was a tremendous amount of OOP rework occurring...
Here I saw a chance to move into a management capacity, so I took a position as a Senior Staff Analyst with the Business Unit Manager for the MD80 / MD90 Final Assembly QA team. The organization consisted of around 130 structural, mechanical, electrical and avionic inspectors and managers working 24x7x365 on the company's most popular line, the MD80 & MD90 twin jets. For the next year, I helped plan headcount, minimize cost-overruns, and solved complex problems associated with the department's operational support of production manufacturing. Additionally I handled a large number of special assignments, including:
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CAL-OSHA liaison for both Commercial QA (600+ employees) and MD80/90 Manufacturing (3,500+ employees).
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Appointed by executive QA leadership to help spearhead the research and implementation for four major initiatives, including the;
Working with Bonnie Soodik, the new Vice President of Quality, we charted the timeline and implementation of these major cultural objectives. It was an exciting time! Finally the time came, and the company promoted me to Manager for MD80 Final Inspection. I would oversee all day-shift UAW electrical, electronic and avionic inspectors, while providing technical and regulatory guidance to the inspectors working on 2nd and 3rd shifts.
During the summer of 1997, changes were on the horizon for DAC. Rumors of potential mergers and out-right sale of major McD divisions, of which DAC was the largest, had many people spooked. When I hired into the company in early 1990 - there were perhaps 56,000 people working at the LGB plant. We were, in fact, the largest single site employer within the State of California, and only second to the State itself in overall employees numbers. By June 1997 - DAC has shrunk down to barely 18,000 employees.
When the news of the merger with Boeing came, I had already begun my search to leave, and found a perfect new career - Information Technology. Since avionics are simply flying computers - IT is a reasonable transition to ground-based computers. It was with great regret that I left aerospace, but it has proven to be a wise decision. Between government defense industry cuts, tumultuous industry cycles, draconian California labor and taxation rules and cut-throat global competition - by 2010 - Southern California - the Detroit of aerospace - has all but handed its crown to Texas, Washington state and Georgia.
To this day - I still miss the many fun & challenging times I had with my friends at DAC. One thing my wife doesn't miss is me coming home with heavy-duty aircraft lubricant stains on my shirts, ties and slacks....(I love ya babe!)...
