Picture provided by SeattlePI.com. Since there’s not much going on on the visible front for OAR Northwest until October – there is a bunch going on in the background, most definitely – I thought I would give some insight into who I am and what I’m doing while waiting to row the Atlantic Ocean.
For the past week I’ve been located in the desert that is Antelope Valley, California, specifically Palmdale. I cannot understand how so many people can live in the desert! Where do they get all the water?!
My job is to work on the 787 as an Aerodynamic Performance Flight Test Engineer. Our job is to test out the airplane conducting all different sorts of required flights, including Takeoffs at Edward’s Air Force Base and Victorville, and this type of test seen in the video link below in Roswell, New Mexico.
Wet Runway Testing on Local Roswell News Station
Obviously I don’t want to violate some Boeing PRO (rule), so I’m only sharing what is general public knowledge.
But this is some pretty fun stuff. This is why you study and prepare and become the best you can be in order to contribute in an effective manner to the program. Um….oh yeah …(insert key corporate phrase) …Operational Excellence. Bingo! Otherwise you’re just a passenger along for the ride.
If you want to learn more about the airplane, check out this link:
Working 12 hours a day isn’t always the most conducive way to build up a general fitness base, but I have been able to work out about 1.5 hours a day at the local 24 Hour Fitness (shameless plug!) with a steady diet of running, erging, and lifting weights. But as far as training goes, we’re still ahead of the curve. I can’t wait until we’re 6 months out training hours a day.
Oh, and it’s about 100 degrees here (and in the 80s at night), so it’s a good way to get used to the heat.
The Pacific Northwest is definitely a great climate. I look forward to the fall weather.