Missouri S&T student gets first look at new Boeing aircraft

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On February 1, 2018

Missouri S&T student Katie Frogge in the cockpit of the Boeing T-X. She was among the first members of the public to view the new jet. Boeing photo.

Missouri S&T student Katie Frogge in the cockpit of the Boeing T-X. She was among the first members of the public to view the new jet. Boeing photo.

A Missouriย S&T student recently became one of the first members of the public to get an inside look at the cockpit of a new Boeing aircraft and to test its advanced training system.

Katie Frogge of Leeโ€™s Summit, Missouri, a sophomore majoring in aerospace engineering at Missouri S&T, was one of five students from universities and high schools in the St. Louis area to recently visit Boeingโ€™s St. Louis location to experience the companyโ€™s T-X aircraft and pilot training system. The training system was designed specifically for the U.S. Air Force with future generations in mind, according to a Boeing news release, and the T-X cockpit features a simple layout, better visibility, stadium seating, an upfront controller display and a large area touchscreen display.

โ€œIโ€™ve flown before in a smaller plane, and it was nothing like this,โ€ Frogge says. โ€œThe cockpit was totally different, and I had a lot of trouble trying to figure out what everything did. Here it was just way more intuitive. I could just poke the screen and go where I wanted to go or zoom in on the map. โ€ฆ It just made a lot of sense.โ€

Katie Frogge tests the digital touch screen in the T-X Classroom at Boeing's St. Louis facility. Boeing photo.

Katie Frogge tests the digital touch screen in the T-X Classroom at Boeing’s St. Louis facility. Boeing photo.

During the Jan. 24 visit to Boeing, Frogge and her fellow students also toured a classroom, which features desktop trainers and interactive displays, and flew what Boeing calls โ€œthe real-as-it-getsโ€ ground-base training simulator while guided by a former T-38 pilot instructor. They then had the opportunity to climb into one of the jets with Boeing T-X chief test pilot Steven โ€œBullโ€ Schmidt.

The Boeing T-X advanced pilot training system includes trainer aircraft, ground-based training and support.

“It was so incredible to be one of the first people to experience the T-X firsthand,โ€ Frogge says. โ€œEveryone at Boeing was great; not only did they want our input on this project, but they also took the time to answer all of our questions and encourage us in our futures as engineers.โ€

At Missouri S&T, Frogge is a member of Kappa Delta sorority and the Society of Women Engineers. She works in the S&T admissions office as an admissions ambassador, giving tours to prospective students. She says she chose to attend Missouri S&T โ€œbecause everyone was so incredibly welcoming and supportive when I visited.โ€

โ€œTo this day the thing I love most about S&T is about how genuine and helpful the community here is,โ€ Frogge says. โ€œI know I can succeed here because so many people are willing to work with me to see me through it.โ€

Her love of aviation led Frogge to choose aerospace engineering as her major.

โ€œI have always been fascinated by how freeing aviation is because it allows us to travel anywhere, anytime,โ€ she says. โ€œIt connects our world in ways that no other mode of transportation ever could.โ€

After graduation, she hopes โ€œto improve the field of aviation in any way possible.โ€

โ€œI want to help make air travel safer, more cost-effective for consumers and more environmentally friendly,โ€ she says. โ€œI want to study aviation disasters to determine why they happened so that similar disasters can be prevented in the future.โ€

Froggeโ€™s visit to Boeing was arranged by Carl Schmitz, Boeingโ€™s engagement focal to Missouri S&T and the companyโ€™s warehouse systems IT manager. Schmitz earned a bachelor of science degree in information science and technology from Missouri S&T in 2010 and is a member of the Deanโ€™s Leadership Council for S&Tโ€™s College of Arts, Sciences, and Business. He also serves on the board of directors for Missouri S&Tโ€™s Miner Alumni Association.

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On February 1, 2018. Posted in email, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, News

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