Helena company -Summit Design and Engineering- earns fighter pilot award

Summit Design and Engineering president Tom Hoffman received the praise of Lockheed Martin officials, U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns
and others in the Helena community Friday afternoon as he explained his company’s involvement in the creation of the F-22
Raptor fighter plane.

By CHRISTINA QUINN, IR Business Writer

He also received an award from the fighter pilots.
Nearly 200 people attended the meeting at Summit’s warehouse, learning more about the next generation of fighter planes and
how the local company contributed.
The U.S. government plans to buy 339 of these stealth fighters for $92 million apiece and start using them in combat, if needed, in
2005, according to Bret Luedke, F-22 chief test pilot for the U.S. Air Force.
Summit built the molds for part of the plane’s exterior.
In addition, Hoffman said the company built and assembled the “forward fuselage line” used for manufacturing the plane. The line
is an assembly plant structure that goes over the plane while it’s under construction.
Summit built the fuselage line parts in Helena and assembled the structure in Marietta, Ga.
This assembly plant streamlines the construction process of the planes, according to Summit.
It’s another example of Summit’s success with aerospace contracts, according to Ron Mercer, manager of the Helena Regional
Airport.
“Lockheed Martin gets their biggest bang for their buck here in Helena,” Mercer said during the presentation.
At the same time, Lockheed’s faith in Summit has helped create Montana’s largest aerospace manufacturing business.
“If it wasn’t for Lockheed Martin, we wouldn’t be here,” Hoffman said. “They’re the ones that got us going.”
With the help of the Boeing Company and Lockheed, in a few days Summit will knock out the south wall of its building and prepare
for expansion to meet new demands to build parts for the F-22. Summit will add 10-15 employees to the current staff of 50 and
build a 12,000- to 15,000-square-foot addition onto the southern end of the building east of the Helena Regional Airport
It’s another step toward improving the economy by entering into the high-tech industry, Burns said to the crowd.
At the same time, Summit is helping protect the country by developing parts and tools for a needed military plane, the Republican
senator added.
For this, Hoffman received the award from the F-22 Raptor pilot program.
“You keep us flying,” Luedke said, adding that he was impressed with and appreciative of Summit’s work.
Reporter Christina Quinn can be reached at 447-4075.

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