This story originally appeared in the Fall 2023 issue of Georgia Tech’s alumni magazine here.
The words safety and aviation are bound as tightly together as wings to a fuselage. Boeing’s Director of Engineering for Fabrication Stacie Sire ’96 and aerial firefighter Dennis Rhodes ’01 live that ethic every day.
Sire oversees the work of 2,000 engineers in 18 business units in the U.S. and around the world in a division that produces about 20,000 parts a day. “You can think of us as an internal supply chain. Our engineers come up with cool ideas to help us produce things faster, more efficiently, defect free, and eliminate rework,” says the New Orleans native.
First-time visitors to her office notice how organized her workspace is. Yet Sire doesn’t see herself as a perfectionist. “I’m the opposite of that,” she says. “I’m all about grit, because I’m not scared to fail. I lean into it, because if I don’t find out my limits, I haven’t pushed myself hard enough.”
That zeal served her well at Tech. She found it “extremely difficult scholastically” and worked a full-time job. “I’ve never shied away from super-difficult challenges. I want to test my boundaries, and I got to do that at Tech,” says Sire who interfaces with Tech’s corporate development and recruiting offices as her company’s corporate sponsor.
Her role involves her in the manufacture and conception of all Boeing’s commercial aircraft including new versions of the 787 and the still-in-development 797 and TTBW (Transonic Truss-Braced Wing) in partnership with NASA.
The design flaws that caused crashes and grounding of the 737MAX weigh heavily on her. “It’s a reminder of how important and critical the work we do as engineers is,” she says. “We’ve taken those hard learnings and grief and said, ‘How do we get even better than we are? How do we strengthen? ’ ”
A career highlight came when she helped shepherd the 787 from its early conceptual stages and flew on an early test flight. “I was asked to be on the flight deck for the landing,” she recalls. “That was the pinnacle.”
A 787 can cruise at 43,100 feet, but the 802F Fire Boss loves to go low. It skims burning treetops 80 feet off the ground. Pilot Rhodes wouldn’t have it any other way. For the past seven years he’s flown his amphibious firefighting aircraft everywhere from Alaska to Texas.
He came prepared for his job at Dauntless Air. This aeronautical engineer towed gliders and banners while at Tech and was a co-op student in Delta’s engineering department. Before Dauntless, he worked for 22 years for Air Tractor, the Texas company that makes the single-engine prop plane.
“I know this plane as well as anybody else,” says the Taylorsville, Georgia, native whose pilot father Dennis Rhodes ’72 inspired him to fly. “I’ve got the background of how the airplane was designed, how was it tested, and how its parts bolt together.” Today he is one of only about 50 pilots who flies the Air Boss.
When Rhodes climbs in the cockpit, he shows his Tech pride by wearing a helmet painted Old Gold. A typical eight-hour day might find him landing on lakes or rivers as many as 80 times. Each time he swoops down it takes only seconds for 800 gallons of water fill the plane’s floats. Then it’s back in the smoke-roiled air. For precision drops, he takes his highly maneuverable Air Boss careening over hillsides and veering past cell phone towers, powerlines, and ridges.
“I enjoy trying to be precise,” he says.
When it is suggested to him that his work is dangerous, the laconic Rhodes replies, “It’s not a forgiving-of-mistakes environment to operate in. So, slow and smooth and steady wins the race.”
Knowing that he’s helping others feels great. Someone recently left a note on his windshield that read “Thank you fire air people XOXO.”
“That kind of stuff is always cool,” says Rhodes.
MORAL: Be careful up there.
For stories similar to this one, buy my book Courage 101: True Tales of Grit & Glory.