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Welcome to the Boeing Future of Flight Center & Tour at Paine Field in Everett, Washington. Located just 30 minutes from Seattle, a visit to the center which includes a tour of the production line is worth the trip. Visits begin at the new $23 million, 28,000 square foot Future of Flight Center. Opened in December 2005, the center is devoted to the past, present and future of commercial aviation. Unlike passive museum exhibits, the aviation center is packed with plenty of interactive experiences and behind-the-scene explorations. For starters, there’s a 9,000 square foot observation deck overlooking the two massive production buildings framed by snow-capped mountains. Graceful airliners being tested before delivery to airlines around the world take-off and land on the 9,500 foot runway at Paine Field. You can’t get much closer to the action. Nearby, rows of completed airliners resemble a new car lot; a very expensive new car lot. Today, Emirates Airline, All Nippon Airways and KLM Royal Dutch Airline 777s are among those waiting for testing or delivery. Inside the Future of Flight Center, diverse zones are all about aviation education and entertainment. Begin in the Airplane Design Zone. Learn the key aspects fuselages, wings engines and materials that make up airworthy aircraft. Next, head to one of 15 computer stations and begin designing your own Sun Country 737 or a 747, 767, 777 or 787 commercial jet. Moving through subsequent zones, there are over 350 possible configurations for customized planes. Don’t worry; the computer will reject choices that prevent safe flight. Once completed, a complimentary print of your customized aircraft with your color scheme and personal logo is available in the Boeing Gift Shop. Moving on to the Materials Zone, examine past and future sections of airline frames. Compare the futuristic composite fuselage of the 787 Dreamliner to an old Boeing 707 fuselage. In the Passenger Experience Zone, view a narrated video about the passenger experience at Boeing. Visit the cabin mock-up of the 787 Dreamliner and relax in the modern passenger seats during a three-screen presentation about this remarkable new jet. The cockpit section of an Eastern Airlines 727 towers above the floor, paying tribute to the former largest airline in the free world. The Flight Systems Zone introduces flight control, avionics, navigation and hydraulics systems. Sit in the Captain’s seat of a 727 flight deck and get the feel of being in command. Compare the old dials and switches to the computer screen panels in recent airliners. Don 3D glasses for a unique view of the future of airliner manufacturing. Pose for a photo perched in the cowling of an enormous Pratt and Whitney Engine. When you have covered the center, continue along the Boeing Corridor passing model planes spanning aviation history and enter the Boeing Theater. Watch an amazing high speed, time-lapse film of a twin-aisle Boeing jet assembled in only minutes. When it’s tour time board a shuttle bus bound for the nearby production plant. Tours leave every hour and require a ticket. The Boeing Tour is the only public tour of a commercial jet assembly plant in North America and naturally some rules apply. No personal items whatsoever may be carried on the tour: no purses, backpacks, notebooks, cellphones, or cameras. Lockers are available in the center for all personal belonging. Babies in arms or strollers are not allowed on the tour and children must be at least four feet tall to participate. It’s a short drive to the production building across the field. On arrival, it is impossible not to be impressed by the massive 11-story, 98-acre Boeing production building, the largest building in the world by volume. Current tours view the 777 assembly line from a balcony three-stories above the assembly floor. Dozens of aircraft in various stages of completion sprawl throughout the gigantic production center. Picture the size by imagining 2,142 average-size homes or over 900 NBA basketball courts inside the building. Although the scene below appears unbelievably cluttered and chaotic with millions of parts as far as the eye can see, there is rigid discipline and structure on the production floor. This is serious business. Leaving the observation balcony, visitors re-board the shuttle bus for a view of the flight line. All the while, a virtual parade of airliners produced for airlines throughout the world take-off, land and fly test patterns. The tour ends back at the Future of Flight Center via the multi-level Boeing gift shop filled with tempting aviation souvenirs and mementos. Next up in the future of flight; the high-tech, fuel-efficient Boeing 787 Dreamliner final assembly plant will open in early 2007 and following production, testing and certification the Dreamliner is expected to be in passenger service in 2008. Twenty-seven airlines from five continents have placed orders for 379 Dreamliners, making it the most successful launch of a new commercial airplane in Boeing’s history. The Boeing Future of Flight Aviation Center is rapidly becoming a global attraction. Over 250,000 visitors are expected to tour the center in 2006. General admissions tickets for the center and tour are $15, $14 for seniors and active-duty military and $8 for children ages 6-15. Tip: If you want to be sure of tour space at a certain time, buy your tour ticket in advance at www.futureofflight.org or by calling the Future of Flight Reservation Center at 800-464-1476.
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