Frank Santoni This is Me

Education

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1. 1. seattlepi.nwsource.com

   seattlepi.nwsource.com/busines - [Cached]

   Published on: 7/9/2007   Last Visited: 7/9/2007

   "We are all chomping at the bit," Frank Santoni, chief test pilot for Boeing and head of flight operations, said when asked about the anticipation of first flight.

2. 2. Extra info Le Bourget 2003

   www.zap16.com/le%20bourget/Ext - [Cached]

   Published on: 2/17/2007   Last Visited: 4/17/2007

   "All pilots, including the FAA, have come to the same conclusion -- that the 777-300ER is a very familiar airplane," said Boeing 777 Chief Test Pilot Frank Santoni, who presented a flight-test briefing today at the Paris Air Show.
   
   Similar handling characteristics help airlines reduce costs for pilot training. It also speaks well for the capabilities of new 777 take-off improvement features, which have allowed the airplane to perform better than predicted.
   
   One of the features, Tail-Strike Protection, helps the longer 777-300ER avoid tail contact with the ground on takeoff. Operating through the fly-by-wire flight controls, the system allows the airplane to lift off at reduced speed, increasing allowable takeoff weight by 4,000 to 10,000 pounds (1,814 to 4,536 kilograms), depending on airport conditions and airplane structural limits. "It's in the primary flight computer," Santoni said of the special feature. "It's a function that looks at rate of closure of the tail to the ground during rotation, measuring how fast and at what distance the tail is moving toward the pavement."
   
   If it's too fast or too close, the system moves the elevator for slower nose rotation. During abuse takeoffs, where Santoni has deliberately rotated the airplane early and fast, the system has responded as designed. "It's doing a superb job, which is testament to our engineering team," Santoni said. "On the 777-300 program six years ago we did the same takeoff performance tests and contacted the tail about 12 times, which is expected during flight-test. On this program, we haven't touched it."
   
   The new semi-levered landing gear allows the 777-300ER airplane to lift its nose early during takeoff by shifting the center of rotation from the main axle to aft axle of the three-axle landing gear truck. "These two features are independent of each other, but both give our customers the ability to take off on shorter runways or put more payload on the airplane for the same length of runway," Santoni said.

3. 3. Today's News

   www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/sto - [Cached]

   Published on: 7/17/2003   Last Visited: 7/17/2003

   "We go all over the world to test," said Frank Santoni, 777 chief test pilot.
   ...
   The pilot's role in flight-testing Boeing Commercial Airplanes pilot Frank Santoni has been involved in the 777 since the testing of the first airplane in the program. "Not even 20 percent of what we do is flying the airplane," Santoni said. "In addition to being pilots, we're also engineers. We work with engineering and manufacturing to build new features, and we work with sales and marketing to help sell the airplane." Test pilots are the first to find out if Boeing ideas really work. "It's a great job if you like to fly, but it's a different job from that of an airline pilot," Santoni said. "We not only test the airplane in the typical flight envelope but we also spend a great deal of time outside of where an airline pilot will fly. This ensures that the airplane behaves as expected should it ever be exposed to these unusual conditions. We also are faced with understanding and evaluating any changes we introduce due to discoveries during our testing." The idea of a test program is not to take an airplane beyond its limits; the purpose is to find the limits so warning systems can be set to prevent pilots from reaching those limits. "The bottom line is we help make changes that improve the airplane's performance, passenger comfort and the pilot's ability to fly the airplane," Santoni said. Boeing's policy for flight-testing allows only pilots on board for an airplane's first flight. Gradually essential personnel, such as engineers and flight-test crew are allowed on to perform onboard analysis. "These folks can make decisions and change testing immediately, if needed," Santoni said.