On this day in aviation history: In 1995 the 777 goes the distance with a very experienced pilot. Captain Suzanna Darcy-Henneman set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale world record for distance flown by a commercial aircraft when she and a crew of 7 additional pilots flew a Boeing 777-200LR Worldliner non-stop from Hong Kong to London Heathrow, a distance of 13,422 miles in 22 hours, 22 minutes. During the flight, Captain Darcy-Henneman also set two speed records. The 777 averaged 609.92 miles per hour from Los Angeles to New York, and 565.78 miles per hour from New York to London. Suzanna Darcy joined Boeing’s engineering department in 1974. She learned to fly with the Boeing Employees Flying Association. Darcy-Henneman graduated from the University of Washington in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautics and Aeronautical Engineering. She then became a ground school instructor for Boeing’s Model 757 and 767 airliners. In 1985, Boeing assigned her to be a production test pilot, the first woman to hold that position with the company. She was also the first woman to earn a captain’s rating on the 747-400, and is also rated on the 737, 757, 767 and 777. She performed flight testing on the 737-300 and was the project test pilot for the 777-200LR. In 2008, Captain Darcy-Henneman became Chief Pilot of Boeing’s Commercial Airplane Services.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 18:07:14 +0000
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