Henri Peter-Contesse, Epitome of Integrity. Blog 6

The Boeing 747 prototype ‘City of Everett’. This airplane is presently located at the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field, Seattle, Washington. The first test flight of this prototype was on 9 February 1969. It is named after the City of Everett, Washington where Boeing manufactures commercial airplanes.

First Impressions

During my first few months at Boeing, I met a legendary engineer, Henri Peter-Contesse. When we met, he told me that he was from Switzerland and his last name was hyphenated. He was a very soft-spoken, tall, slim individual in his late 50s. He had a calendar from Switzerland next to his desk. The calendar had pictures of various trains from Switzerland going through the Alps. Henri always admired the design of the Swiss train compartments that always remained horizontal despite going through a very hilly and rocky terrain.

Experience vs. Youth

I was just a young kid around the corner who was from the computer era. I was full of energy but foolish when it came to aero-plane design. I was 30 years younger than him but always thought I knew a lot. On the other hand, Henri had worked on the propulsion, aerodynamics, and flight controls of the first 747. The aircraft in the picture in this blog was the one that Henri worked on. He had done all the calculations using his 'computer' that no one could guess the name of. The computer was a 'slide rule'.

A Lesson in Humility

I remember one day Henri told me to do some complex calculations. As usual, I wrote a computer program to do it. I ran the program for different conditions and came up with results. I showed the results to Henri and did not expect to do anything over and above. However, Henri looked at the numbers, went into his usual thinking trance, and then said, "Vinay, your numbers are not correct". As a typical computer-era kid, I responded, "I have checked my program. The program is correct." Henri calmly told me to check my program one more time. What a shame! I found a mistake in the program. Henri's knowledge of systems, tolerances, gains, performance, and all associated parameters was impeccable. My admiration of Henri went up many folds. Little did I know that my admiration of Henri would soon grow leaps and bounds.

Vision and Persistence

One day, one of the senior engineers told me a story dating back to the late 70s. Handling the aircraft under turbulent conditions has always been a very important topic of research. Henri was working on it for several months if not years. After a lot of hard work, Henri came up with a System. He went to his manager and showed him the design and rationale behind such a system. His boss was not convinced. More funding for further research was turned down. Henri continued to do more analysis and thought experiments. He was convinced even more. Thus, he went back to his manager and asked for more budget. Henri was again turned down. This continued for a while. Finally, his boss thought of giving Henri some budget for testing and implementation on the actual airplane. The system development was making good progress. The progress continued, and the FAA certified the system for the 747-200. Henri's boss was very happy. He reported to his bosses about the brilliant work Henri had done. The higher-ups were happy. They held a small ceremony to honor Henri for the system design and implementation. The system was now put on commercial flights to suppress oscillations and improve passenger comfort.

The Challenge of Real-World Testing

Systems that counter gusts or turbulence are very difficult to design. Additionally, testing these systems is challenging because the weather conditions that trigger oscillations are hard to find. Testing involves flying an airplane through these elusive conditions, making it difficult to evaluate the systems properly.

I remember once we were testing the onboard system for wind shear. We got a call from the Colorado Springs control tower that they were witnessing medium turbulence. We immediately took off from the Boeing Field in Seattle and headed to Colorado Springs, hoping to fly through medium to heavy turbulence. However, by the time we reached over there, the turbulence had subsided.

Analyzing the Data

When Henri’s system was flying on commercial flights, it became easy to get the test data. Whenever the aircraft experienced medium to heavy turbulence, the system behavior was recorded. Since Boeing has a tie-up with many airlines, they exchange in-flight data. This type of data started coming back to Boeing. Henri started analyzing it.

After analyzing many such data sets, Henri realized that the system was not doing its job. It was as if no system was installed. The system was not causing any detrimental effects. The presence of the system was not a safety issue. But it was just that it was not performing at all and adding to the dead weight.

Integrity Above All

Henri was disheartened. His conscience was very clear. He went and met his manager. Henri told the manager that the system was not doing the job. Based on what was told to me, I imagined the conversation to have taken place something like this.

The manager asked him, "So what do you want me to do?". Henri, "I would like to have the system taken off from the commercial flights because it is not doing what it is supposed to do. It is a dead weight impacting the fuel efficiency of the aircraft". Manager, "Do you know how hard it was to convince the bosses to get the budget? We got that done for the program. We had a ceremony celebrating the system's success, and now how can I go back?" Apparently, the manager was not convinced in the first few rounds of discussions with Henri. However, finally, the manager reported that the system was not working, and it was taken off the airplane. It takes a special person to return a medal, admit that he didn't deserve the award since the system wasn't working, return the medal, and obey his conscience.

A Legendary Legacy

People like Henri Peter-Contesse are few and far between. To such scientists and engineers, truth is what matters. Individual gains have no relevance. Science is above pride, ego, prestige, and honors. They will defend the truth at any cost. Henri was certainly a legendary engineer; one hardly gets a chance to meet such great minds, let alone a chance to work with them. Above all, he was the epitome of integrity.

Early Life and Passing

Henri was born in 1924. He was raised in Neufchâtel, Switzerland. Henri passed away in 2023 in Bellevue, Washington.