Paul Minneman

O. Paul Minneman (born 1926) is an American pioneer in aerospace and transportation systems.
Key programs
Minuteman missile silos
In the early 1950s, America's nuclear deterrent versus the Soviet Union was based on the Boeing Minuteman Missile system. This system was threatened by an (at that time undisclosed) problem in their reliability of launch. Many of the missiles were deployed in hardened missile silos, most frequently in sparsely-populated US northern states. The hatches for these silos would become unusable during harsh winter months due to snow and ice accumulations. Minneman's first major program was to resolve this obstacle to the US nuclear deterrent.
B-52 Stratofortress
The B-52 Stratofortress was a long-range strategic bomber. There were problems in the early 1950s with the B-52's crew escape pods, which would misfire with a resulting loss of life. Boeing organized several teams to attack the problem. Minneman led one of these teams, and was successful in overcoming the problem by employing a systems approach. The team secured an aircraft hangar and laid out all the drawings for the myriad of systems involved in the escape pods across the large hangar floor, and then evaluated the overall system parameters. This led to the discovery of mismatches between otherwise-robust systems in the form of mechanical tolerances which do ensure correct performance (tolerance stacks). By resolving these mismatches the problems were resolved.
Chinook helicopter
The Boeing Chinook Helicopter was the workhorse in the US military, in allied military around the world, and in heavy-lifting applications in industry. The Chinook was built at the Boeing Vertol operation in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Minneman moved there to run the operation in 1964. Several thousand employees were focused on manufacturing hundreds of Chinook helicopters. Minneman ran this program for four years. A class-action lawsuit was initiated near the end of his tenure related to failure of Chinook rotors. The lawsuit named Boeing Corporation, Minneman and others. After a lengthy trial, the causative factors were identified as improper maintenance by the users. Boeing and Minneman were fully exonerated. Since then, proper maintenance has eliminated the failures.
747 galley
The 747 was the world's largest commercial aircraft for four decades. Minneman moved back to the Northwest in 1968 to Everett, Washington to join the 747 design team (often referred to as The Incredibles). He led the design and implementation of the kitchen/galley. On a typical 747 flight, the galley must handle 800 meals served to 400 people, consisting of 5 tons of food and drink. The 747 was the first aircraft to have a lower-deck galley, which combined with the large volume of food required a series of design innovations, the result of which was increased seating and space in the passenger decks. The 747 received high commendations for the design simplicity and functionality of the below-decks design.
Morgantown personal rapid transit
Personal Rapid Transit is a public transportation mode featuring small automated vehicles operating on a network of specially-built guide ways. The University of West Virginia campus in Morgantown was one of the first United States applications. The Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit contract was originally awarded to another company. The contract was running substantially over budget, and becoming an embarrassment to the Nixon administration. Boeing, led by Minneman, successfully captured the contract. In 1975, the system was implemented and later extended across two campuses. The system has operated continually for over thirty years with 98.5% reliability. When first implemented, this system included some of the first fully automated vehicles deployed for public rapid transit and led to many others now in use in airports and cities across the world.
Okinawa Expo '75 personal rapid transit
Minneman also managed development of another Personal Rapid Transit system in Okinawa, Japan for Expo '75.
Space Shuttle carrier aircraft and shuttle flight test
The Space Shuttles were manufactured in California but launched in Florida, necessitating a method of transport. Prior to the first Space Shuttle launch, flight tests were necessary to ensure that the Shuttle could safely land after its orbital flights (the Approach and Landing Tests). To support these two requirements, a 747 was modified to carry the shuttle on its back and to allow launching the Shuttle from the 747 in flight. This 747 was dubbed the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. Minneman, in cooperation with astronaut Deke Slayton at NASA, managed this development program.
Boeing 767/757 avionics and flight control
Human error at the heart of most aviation accidents. The Boeing 767 and Boeing 757 (7x7) were the first commercial aircraft designed to fly entirely automatically, to reduce the incidence of these accidents.
To facilitate automatic flight, the original 767 had six CRT screens to display electronic flight instrument system and engine indicating and crew alerting system information, allowing pilots to handle monitoring tasks previously performed by the flight engineer. The CRTs replace conventional electromechanical instruments found on earlier aircraft. The 767 was the first aircraft to receive self-landing (CAT IIIb) certification from the FAA in 1984. Prior to his retirement from Boeing, Minneman was one of the managers on this program.
Other professional activities
Lapidary
Minneman founded Paul’s Lapidary, a gem and jewelry manufacturing and retail company. Paul’s Lapidary became a member of the custom jewelry market in the Pacific Northwest in 1969 and operated for over 17 years. Paul’s Lapidary acquired the assets of one of the larger Australian Opal dealers on the West Coast of the US.
Personal
Minneman was born on April 17, 1926 in Port Angeles, Washington, and grew up in Salem, Oregon as the son of a Lutheran Minister. His parents died when he was 12. After traveling extensively in the United States and Canada, he joined the U.S. Navy in 1944. After discharge from the Navy, he traveled again, and eventually settled in Seattle. He graduated from the University of Washington in 1952. He served at Boeing for over 30 years from 1951 to his retirement in 1985.
Minneman has been married to his wife Ellen (Van Dyke) Minneman since 1956, and has four sons (Michael, Daniel, Timothy, and Kenneth) and 4 grandchildren.
Authored publications
* A Great Life, Paul Minneman, 1999, ISBN 978-0-9823807-2-7
* Numerous Newspaper Articles
Honors
* Minneman received numerous awards and honors as a result of his work at Boeing.
* For his work on the Space Shuttle program, he was awarded a commendation by NASA and Deke Slayton (see graphic).

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