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MAYNARD L
~
1910-1994
PENNELL
BY PHILIP M. CONDIT
MAYNARD L. PENNELL, who played a leading role in the de-
sign of the Boeing 707 and many other landmark aircraft
during his thirty-four year career, died on November 22, 1994.
Maynard was born in Skowhegan, Maine, in 1910. The harsh
Maine winter had contributed to the fatal illness of an older
brother, and in 1919 the family decided to move to a more
temperate climate. Seattle was chosen because the University
of Washington at the time offered a nearly free college
education, and the Pennell's had high academic aspirations
for their four children.
Maynard was fascinated by flying at an early age and
enrolled in the aeronautical engineering program at the
University of Washington. After graduation, he worked for the
Navy Bureau of Aeronautics and Douglas Aircraft in LOS
Angeles, where he showed his flair for structural design as
part of the team that created the DC-3. Tn 1940 Maynard
returned to Seattle, where he would spend the next three
decades as one of the most influential and respected engineers
in the history of Boeing.
During World War II, Maynard made substantial contribu-
tions to the B-29 project. After the war, when the company was
struggling to develop new products for the commercial mar-
ket, he headed up the initial studies to determine the
feasibility of jet transports.
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MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
Maynard soon became the company's leading acivocate for
designing its own commercial jet despite the huge cost and
risk. He went on to serve as senior project engineer on what
was called the "367 Dash SO," the prototype for the Boeing
707, which wouIc! help revolutionize the air travel industry. A
remarkably small work force (300 designers en cl technicians
and 300 shop workers) turner! out the Dash 80 in the
remarkably short time of twenty-six months. About one quarter
of the company's net worth ($16 million) was riding on the
airplane's success.
After 1954, when the 707 prototype first flew, Maynard held a
series of management positions, including that of chief engineer
for the transport division, and then director of engineering,
where he sought to persuade Boeing management to build a
"family" of airplanes to serve various market needs. The
enormously popular three-engine Boeing 727 followecl, and the
strategy of creating an airplane family proved to be a key element
in establishing the company's market leadership.
In 1963 Maynard was appointed manager of Boeing's SST
proposal team, engaging in a government-sponsored contest
against Lockheec! for the right to manufacture the airframe
for the nation's first supersonic jetliner. By mid-1966 he hacI
unveiled the model of the 300-passenger, 330-foot-Iong air-
craft designed to fly at 1,800 miles an hour, with a range of
about 4,000 miles. Boeing won the competition against Lock-
heed, but the SST project lost support in Congress and the
plane was never built.
In 1969 Maynard became vice-president of product devel-
opment and went on to serve the company in a number of
senior executive positions before his retirement in 1974.
For his achievements at Boeing, Maynard was honored with
the 1965 Elmer A. Sperx y Awarc! for clistinguished engineer-
ing. He was a member of the American Institute of
Aeronautics and Astronautics ant! was elected to the National
Academy of Engineering in 1968.
In ~ 989 Boeing established the Maynard Pennell
Professorship in Structural Analysis at the University of
Washington in his honor.
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MAYNARD L. PENNELL
181
Maynard was not only a talented, visionary engineer but
also an exceptional leader and manager with that rare ability
to motivate and inspire the people who worked for him and to
keep them focused on achieving a common goal.
He was known for his calm, quiet assurance and for his ability
to steer people through a crisis without losing his composure or
his sure grasp of what needed to be done. Maynard was also
known as a manager who believed that everyone on a project
had something to contribute. And like all superior leaders, May-
nard was always willing to listen but never afraid to lead.
Maynard embodied the highest standards of his chosen engi-
neering profession. And he has left his mark, not only on the
history of The Boeing Company, but on the history of av~ahon.
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