787 Biography
Steve Shumate
Steve Shumate worked on the 787 program before it was a program. He and several hundred other engineers began working what was known as a "reference airplane" during the development of the Sonic Cruiser, a super-fast airplane that was never pursued by Boeing because of customer preference for the super-efficient 787.
He served as a 787 configuration design engineer, responsible for managing and integrating the overall airplane configuration during the Preliminary Design phase of development. More recently, he agreed to accept the positions of 787-9 configuration design lead and is helping to define the design features for the future stretch version of the 787-8.
While all aspects of the 787 program have created challenges and opportunities, Shumate looks back at the early days of the program as a highlight of his 16-year Boeing career.
"In planning and participating in the first Dreamliner Progress Summit -- where airline industry leaders from all over the world came to learn about the new technologies and features we were planning for the Dreamliner -- there was a very real sense of excitement," he said. "It became clear at that meeting that Boeing was about to change the way people fly in a big way. It is amazing to be a part of that and to get to work with all of the people that it takes to make a new airplane."