Tulane Alumnus Part of Aviation History

October 29, 2007

New Wave Staff
newwave@tulane.edu

Showing off his certificate from the first Boeing 747 flight in 1970, Tulane alumnus Thomas Lee, left, is ready to fly on the Airbus 380 with his wife, Sally, center, and daughter, Briana, right. (Photo provided by Thomas Lee)

After riding on his second commercial plane that made aviation history, Tulane alumnus Thomas Lee exclaimed, “The flight was fantastic!”

On Thursday (Oct. 25), he was on board when the new super jumbo Airbus 380 made its inaugural flight from Singapore to Sydney, Australia. Lee also was a passenger on the first commercial passenger flight of the Boeing 747 on Jan. 21, 1970, from New York to London.

Before Thursday’s flight, Lee was already ecstatic. “I suspect I will be the only person on the planet who will have flown on both commercial inaugurals of the only two wide-body, double-decker, commercial aircraft in history,” Lee said.

He joined 455 passengers on the Singapore Airlines flight, many of whom had paid thousands of dollars in a very competitive online auction. The airline donated the proceeds — $1.3 million — to charities.

A resident of Orange County, Calif., Lee was given one seat on the A380 flight, but wanted to share the experience with his family. He was able to purchase additional passenger tickets on a popular online auction site for his wife, Sally, and daughter, Briana.

Airbus’ 21st-century flagship introduces a new era of airline transportation, carrying 525 passengers aboard a craft hailed by the manufacturer as “the most advanced, spacious and efficient aircraft ever conceived.” It has a maximum takeoff weight of 1.3 million pounds and a range of 8,200 nautical miles. With versatile cabins on both main decks, the A380 offers more space to passengers of first, business and economy class, along with wider seats and aisles.

On the 1970 Pan Am flight aboard the B747, Lee flew with his father, mother and sister. At that time, the B747 was the largest aircraft in the world.

“I fell in love with aviation after the first 747 flight at age 17 and chose a career in aerospace,” said Lee, a 1976 engineering graduate of Tulane. After graduation, he founded Aero-design Technology and developed equipment used on thousands of commercial aircraft, including the Singapore Airlines 380.

Lee said he holds more than 20 U.S. and international patents, including in-flight trash compactor technology and onboard currency and value card exchangers.

Continuing to be active in aviation, Lee said he is developing new technologies including advanced galley food refrigeration systems used by Singapore Airlines on its newest B777-300ER fleet.

Lee currently is director of business development for Monogram Systems, which acquired Aero-design Technology in 1996. He also serves as president of the Tulane Alumni Club of Orange County.