FLYING Magazine
Last month, 96-year-old Charlie Tapper became the longest-serving employee in Boeing’s history, and CEO Kelly Ortberg said he has “no plans of retiring anytime soon.”
Tapper marked 75 years with the company in June. He joined Boeing a week after receiving a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Oregon State University (then Oregon State College) in 1951. At the time, the company was still developing the B-52 Stratofortress and had yet to build the 707, which is widely credited with catapulting civil aviation into the Jet Age.
“Charlie’s impressive career as our longest-serving employee is a record that may never be broken,” Ortberg said in a news release. “We appreciate everything that he’s done and will continue to do to represent our company.”
The previous mark for longest-serving employee was held by Diana Rhea, who died at 96 in 2018. Rhea also spent 75 years with Boeing before retiring in 2017.
“Congratulations to Charlie Tapper on 75 years with Boeing and on becoming the company’s longest-serving employee,” Howard McKenzie, Boeing’s chief engineer, wrote on LinkedIn this week. “His remarkable career reflects a lifelong commitment to engineering, innovation, and the people who make up #TeamBoeing.”
According to Boeing, Tapper “contributed to a wide range of programs” at the company. He took part in development of the LGM-30 Minuteman missile system, support for the X-20 Dyna-Soar spaceplane program—which was canceled before the vehicle was complete—and testing of the first automatically deploying slides on a commercial airplane, escape slides on the 747.
He has worked in Boeing Defense, Space, and Security government property management for the past 15 years.
“It’s been a long journey, and I’ve enjoyed every bit of it,” Tapper said of Boeing’s recognition of his milestone. “I wish I had another 100 years to be at the forefront of technology.”
Tapper is also a former U.S. Naval aviator who served four years of active duty, leaving Boeing for a time, and 35 years in the Navy Reserve. He flew the Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star, Lockheed P-2 Neptune, and P-3 Orion during the Cold War, during which he also took part in the final American nuclear tests in the South Pacific.
Boeing commemorated Tapper’s lengthy career with a flight on the P-8A Poseidon with a U.S. Navy aircrew assigned to Patrol Squadron 4, a patrol and reconnaissance squadron based out of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington state. He rode in a jumpseat behind the pilot and, according to Boeing, was impressed with the P-8A’s sophistication.
“It was like living a dream, like living in the future,” Tapper said. “The pilot was cordial and friendly, showed me the plane’s features, and I was asking all kinds of questions. I felt like I was a member of the crew. I’d fly with them anywhere.”
Boeing also hosted a recognition dinner for Tapper at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, attended by Ortberg and chief financial officer Jay Malave.
Tapper is also an avid horseshoe pitcher who competed in the World Horseshoe Pitching Championships in Washington in 2024 as one of the competition’s oldest participants.
Boeing said Tapper gave the following advice to fellow employees: “Always ask questions, no matter how simple they seem. Learn as much as you can, celebrate successes with your teammates, and always be a good teammate.”