A Team of Special People – Joe Furnish
Joe Furnish
Leading the design team at Birdman International, Mr. Joseph F. Furnish is a Director and Chief Engineer. With over 40 years of commercial and government contract experience, Joe has set the industry standard in design, development, testing, and ultimately, certification of numerous aircraft across many industry spectrums.
Joe has led teams for aviation juggernauts such as Beechcraft, Cessna, McDonnell, and Northrop, creating a testament of aviation successes, including the Cessna Citation III, Beechcraft Starship, Beechcraft King Air 1900D commuter, the King Air 350, and the USAF Jayhawk trainer.
As lead engineer, Joe also managed modification programs, installing thrust reversers on aircraft ranging from the Learjet 45, Citation X, Falcon 2000, IAI SPX, to the Boeing 727. Other projects included re-engining the B-727 and implementing structural improvements to the A & T-37 fleets, as well as a passenger-to-freighter modification for the ATR-42 and 72.
Mr. Furnish holds a M.S. degree from Carnegie Institute of Technology (concentrated in the areas of structural design and analysis) as well as a B.E. degree in Civil Engineering from Yale University.
