Page 44 - MY STORY

acquired data for boron steels, replot all the data so it was

in a consistent format and write a report on the findings.

Taking data from at least four or five other aircraft

companies and plotting it to a single format was indeed
daunting, but doable. So I accomplished that and wrote a
pretty thick technical report on the findings, pointing out

the advantages and disadvantages of boron steel
compared to the conventional low alloy steel. Leo came
back to my desk a few days after I had submitted the

report, slammed the report on my desk and said, “This is
not what I wanted!!!” When I asked what the problem

was he said: “You wrote this like a technical report – I
want you to write it like a story so the reader does not get
bored by all the data and fall asleep!” So much for all the
training in writing reports.

I rewrote the report, while the data plots remained the

same, and resubmitted it. I never got any word back from
Leo. After about a month, I just could not contain my
curiosity to find out what happened to the report and what

he thought of the revised version. I made the
appointment to see him in his office and ask what he
thought of the report, hoping for a compliment or

something akin. His total response, through clutched