Sterling employees go the distance at plane pull event

Rockwell Collins Simulation & Training Solutions employees in Sterling, Va., participated recently in the 15th Annual Dulles Day Family Festival and Plane Pull. The team pulled a 150,000-pound airplane.
Photo courtesy of Justin Maddox, Sterling, Va.

Rockwell Collins Simulation & Training Solutions (STS) employees in Sterling, Va., proved there is more than one way to move an aircraft recently, by participating in the 15th Annual Dulles Day Family Festival and Plane Pull.

Sponsored by the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority Police Department, this summertime event raises money and awareness for the Special Olympics of Virginia.

Held for the first time in 1992 at Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., the plane pull is a highly-anticipated event in which teams compete to determine who can best pull a 737 cargo jet a distance of 12 feet.

This year, for the first time ever, our facility in Sterling donated $1,000 and sent a team of 20 participants to take part in the competition.

"This event is a major fundraiser for the Special Olympics of Virginia, so it was very upbeat," said Dan Dillon, director of Manufacturing Operations in Sterling, and also a plane pull participant. "Special Olympics is a cause that people do not have trouble supporting."

On a very hot and sunny day, the Rockwell Collins STS team pulled the 150,000-pound airplane the designated distance in a very respectable time of less than 10 seconds.  The repeat champion, a Law Enforcement team from Chesapeake, Va., weighing in at nearly 6,000 pounds, won the event with a time of a little over 6 seconds.   

According to Stephanie Smith, Human Resources manager for the East Region, and also a plane pull team member, the event was one that not only raised money for a worthy cause, but also taught the true value of teamwork.

"There is no 'I' in team," said Smith. "What one person can't do, a team can."