THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 11, 1996 TAG: 9605110328
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JAMES SCHULTZ, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HAMPTON LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
So new that the word ``Experimental'' has yet to be removed from above a cockpit hatch door, a Boeing 777 flew to NASA Langley Research Center Friday morning in a gesture of gratitude to NASA engineers and scientists for years of aeronautical research.
Without those efforts, Boeing officials said, the latest addition to their fleet would not have been possible.
``Langley's fundamental technology research has been adapted to this airplane,'' said Robert E. Spitzer, vice president of engineering for Boeing's commercial airplane group. ``The legacy of the technology streams down. Let the people who have done the work see what comes out.''
But even as hundreds of Langley researchers and their families stood patiently in line for tours of the massive airplane, still up in the air was a cost-cutting measure that would strip Langley of its own research aircraft.
Under the NASA headquarters proposal, all of the Hampton facility's planes would be sent to a sister complex in California, even though administrative responsibility for research programs involving any of the craft would remain at Langley.
Two of Virginia's congressional delegation in attendance at the Friday event said emphatically they were opposed to the move.
``This (Boeing 777) airplane is a direct example of what can be done with aeronautical research,'' said U.S. Rep. Robert C. Scott, a Democrat whose 3rd District includes parts of Norfolk, Portsmouth and the Peninsula. ``It makes more economic sense to keep the airplanes here. This is where most of the researchers are.''
U.S. Rep. Herbert H. Bateman agreed. ``I'm not in favor of that. It will cost money, not save money,'' said Bateman, a Peninsula Republican. ``I will be following this very closely to make sure some dumb thing doesn't happen.''
The issue is being studied by the Government Accounting Office and will be reviewed by NASA administrator Daniel Goldin, Bateman said. A decision should be forthcoming in the next several months.
Distant deliberations in Washington didn't appear to be on the minds of any of the Langley workers who braved chill winds and early morning mist for a peek inside the 209-foot-long 777. Long lines snaked back to Langley's massive aircraft hangar as people slowly moved along the tarmac, mounting mobile stairs and going into the fuselage.
Once inside, Boeing staff showed off design innovations, including more spacious bathrooms and overhead storage bins, video systems built into the backs of seats and a variety of seating arrangements that appeared to offer more leg room than the 777's predecessors.
The 777 is the first American-built airplane to make extensive use of a so-called ``fly-by-wire'' computerized flight system derived in part from work done by engineers at NASA Langley.
Sitting in front of bright, liquid crystal-display screens in the plane's cockpit, Boeing chief flight test pilot James C. McRoberts claimed that the 777 ``makes great pilots out of good pilots. It's a wonderful airplane. It's the best one we've built so far.''
Outside, knots of visitors congregated underneath the gleaming blue belly of the craft, examining the 777's two huge engines and twin, six-tire landing gear.
``It's a pretty plane. Very impressive,'' said Langley research engineer Kyle Anderson. ``When we work with airplanes, it's usually on the computer screen. It's nice to actually see the real thing.''
Late last year, the 777 was the subject of a five-hour PBS documentary that tracked its design and manufacture. On Thursday, Boeing's 777 design won the prestigious 1995 Collier Trophy, awarded annually for top aeronautical achievement.
So far, only 23 of the 777s have been delivered to commercial airlines. To date, 268 are on back order. Depending on the model and internal configuration, each 777 costs between $128 million and $150 million. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos by Lawrence Jackson/The Virginian-Pilot
Hundreds of NASA Langley researchers and their families toured the
plane.
Mike Messina, a dynamics worker at Lockheed-Martin, inspects the
landing gear of the 777 Friday. The plane flew to Langley in a
gesture of gratitude to the reseachers at the NASA facility.
KEYWORDS: NASA LANGLEY RESEARCH CENTER EXPERIMENTAL PLANE by CNB