Gordon McKinzie
Manager, New Aircraft Development
United Airlines
I joined United Airlines in 1967 and am presently Manager of New Aircraft
Development, a post I have held since 1987. Assignments at United have included
Manager of Operational Engineering, Factory Representative at Douglas (our first DC-10
deliveries), Manager of Fuel and Performance Control, Manager of Flight Standards and
Training, and Manager of New Technology Engineering. I was named 777 Program
Manager in 1990 and led United’s “Working Together” team with Boeing through the
design, build, and certification of that airplane over a six-year period. I have been
involved in numerous new airplane acquisition studies for United, including Concorde,
B-2707, DC-10, B-767, B-757, 7J7, B-747-400, B-777, A320, A330, A340, A380, and
Sonic Cruiser.
Prior to United Airlines, I was a Flight Test Engineer at Edwards AFB on F-5, T-38, and
experimental V/STOL programs, including VJ-101, P-1127, DO-31, and XV-5. I was
also a project aerodynamicist at Ling-Temco-Vought on XC-142 tilt-wing transport
derivatives, and at Northrop on T-38 and N-156 strike fighter programs.
I have degrees in engineering from Claremont-McKenna College and Stanford
University. I was named a Distinguished Lecturer of the Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics in 1995, and elected a Fellow of the Institute in 1998.