Brien Wygle passes away:

I knew Brien and I'm sad to hear that he has passed. I am also surprised that I didn't receive the news until your post. Brien was one of those guys who seemed to be unimpressed with his accomplishments. When I asked him about his experience when the rudder came off the hydroplane Thriftway Two when he was piloting it at 160 MPH. It swapped ends and survived the failure. He said, " Well, I wouldn't want to do that every day." I flew on a 720B test flight with him at the helm and he was total professional.He always remembered to say hello when we were at big gatherings like QB's and Boeing functions. The old Boeing was very different from what it is today and I hope that it can regain the all over humanism that I remember. It's still there but hasn't risen back to the corporate level yet. Might not happen as long as the name is still in Chicago...thanks to a dimwit.

 

I forgot to mention that Brien was copilot on the first flight of the 747 with Jack Wadell, and Jess Wallick, all W's.