All Hail The Aero-Heroes of 2009!

Final Compilations by ANN Editor-In-Chief/Trouble-Maker, Jim Campbell

It is both the most "fun," and most difficult, task facing the ANN staff at the end of every year -- determining who, or what, did the most to promote the cause of aviation in the past 365 days... while also chastising those people or entities that did all they could to undermine the many successes the aviation/aerospace community has managed to accomplish.
 
Thankfully, 2009 was a year in which we saw the best and brightest among us step forward and work tirelessly on behalf of us all. No doubt about it... the challenges we faced in 2009 were numerous, and ongoing... so was the quality of expertise and passion brought to our defense by those who heroically demonstrated to the world the very best side of aviation... via their deeds, words and actions.
 
It is ANN's honor to recognize Ten persons/organizations or groups that qualify as our Aero-Heroes for 2009... in something of an informal order, starting from the 10th to the 1st. Let us know what you think of our selections... whom YOU would have liked be included or omitted from such a list. In the meantime, we thank the folks who made this year's list. Thank you, folks... we really needed you this year, and you didn't let us down.

ANN will list our Top Ten choices over the next few days's, but in order to kick off the New Year right, let's enjoy another selection from our Heroes List for 2009...

Aero-Heroes #10 -- The Boeing 787 Design Team

Yeah, I know, they're behind schedule, there were problems, it's costing them an arm and a leg... yada, yada... well, screw that. Nothing truly revolutionary comes easily and if find yourself involved in an "easy" project, it just means that you weren't shooting high enough to begin with. The 787 program is a MASSIVE undertaking both in terms of what it means to Boeing, the airline industry and the way that we've been doing business for decades.

 The 787 program has its work cut out for it... but the true genius of the program is the fact that they aimed the bar so bloody high that Airbus had to take a few steps back and spent many months cogitating over the program to see if they could actually take the project on (which they are... a few years behind the Boeing sked).

I don't doubt that Boeing still has some unpleasant surprises in store for themselves (that's why they call it research and development, after all) and I'm not going to be surprised to see the current sked slip and some additional damage result... but what Boeing did was more than build a more economical, revolutionary company... they set the entire operation on a wholly new course for the future and have potentially guaranteed that Boeing will remain a force to be reckoned for decades to come. And yes, I think they will succeed.

We look forward to flying on the 787.

FMI: Comments/Criticism?