Fast Forward Is Flying!

Okay, we weren't exactly flying. But at the Gulfstream facilities in Savannah, we felt like we were.

That's what happens when you get an inside peek at the place where they make the world's fastest civilian jet aircraft (the G650), along with a bunch of other absolutely amazing planes.

Wherever we go on Fast Forward, I'm always impressed by the people we meet. In addition to being smart, successful, hard-working folks, they're inevitably very engaging. Nowhere has this been more true than at Gulfstream.

The first person we met run's Gulfstream's Acoustic Test Facility. When I say you could hear a pin drop in their anechoic chamber (yeah, I didn't know those existed either), I really mean it. The room is built to absorb sound. So every little squeak and ding seems louder than it would...pretty much any place else on earth. You don't want to be in there if your stomach is growling.

Of course Gulfstream has other uses for this room--like testing the decibels of engines and whatnot. Our guide gave us a crash course in what they do and how they do it. Very cool stuff indeed.

We also got a look inside a flight simulation lab. This is a place where real-life pilots and others come to put the latest technology to the test. You see, you can't make the world's most advanced planes if you don't push the envelope. And this is just one of the places at Gulfstream where that envelope is given a hardy shove.

In addition to places like the above, and a quick walk through one of their plants (sorry, no pictures here), we were introduced to a wide array of employees. You see, when you're employing approximately 8,000 people to make planes in Savannah alone, it turns out there are a lot of different types of jobs that go into the process. That number is 1,200. Think about it! 1,200 different fields of work to make these amazing aircraft! Sure there are engineers of every discipline. But there are also jobs you might not think about--like the interior designers who make the inside of these sleek machines into works of art. In addition, you'll find pilots, salespeople, and a wide range of factory workers. Now just add another 1,995 jobs to the list, and you'll understand what I'm saying.

And now back to those folks we met...

One of the first was a "retired" pilot named Bethany. I'll just say...she was young. It's not polite to ask a woman her age, so of course I didn't. But she clearly appeared too young to be retired...from anything, let alone being a pilot. It turns out she and Gulfstream realized that her experience as a pilot made her well suited to work in the sales division. And it showed. She concisely described Gulfstream, her background, and pretty much anything she chose to talk about in an extremely engaging manner.

And subsequent interviews were just as fascinating. Pretty much everyone we met had an interesting story or two for us. To summarize, they all made it clear that Gulfstream is a fantastic place to work.

I'm looking forward to putting this video together, hoping to convey even just a fraction of how amazing our time at Gulfstream was. If we can do that successfully, hopefully we'll encourage a few more Georgia students to take STEM subjects a little more seriously. If they do, their careers could really...TAKE OFF!

Yeah. Okay. I'll work on the puns. See you next time.