Published January 2006

Center offers glimpse
of tomorrow's
aviation technology

Snohomish County Business Journal/JOHN WOLCOTT The gallery of aviation at the Future of Flight Aviation Center and Boeing Tour facility at Paine Field is filled with aircraft, computers, composite 787 sections, 3-D animation demonstrations, the history of Boeing airliners and a jet flight simulator.

By John Wolcott
SCBJ Editor

Come to Paine Field for a fascinating look into the future — the future of flight.

Until the opening of the $23 million Future of Flight Aviation Center and Boeing Tour facility at Paine Field in December, aviation museums in the Pacific Northwest drew hundreds of thousands of visitors each year to see and admire the past, from the Wright brothers to the military “warbirds” of two world wars and the jet age that followed.

This year, for the first time, hundreds of thousands of people will be converging on the Future of Flight Aviation Center to see and admire the future of aviation, presented in the context of commercial aviation’s past triumphs but focusing on the next generation of innovative airliner technology and design.

“This place wasn’t built for my generation,” said Executive Director Barry Smith. “It was built for the youth of today, the next generation of engineers, pilots and passengers. It’s an education center meant to inspire as much as to inform. We’ve gotten great response to it already, including international visitors and world press coverage.”

In the first few days, it became clear that — as planned — the Future of Flight Aviation Center already is becoming a global attraction of major interest among tourists, aviation enthusiasts and corporate America. As many as 250,000 visitors a year are expected to tour the center and Boeing plant, adding $3.5 million annually to the local economy.

“This isn’t just a corner grocery, a local attraction for those in Snohomish County,” Smith said, adding that the center has a powerful synergy that attracts the aviation community, corporations that want to become involved with the new center, airline passengers and tourists.

It also has proven to be especially appealing to children and teens, Smith said, as well as “adults who still have some kid in them.”

Although many visitors come just to see the aviation technology displays, a full tour begins with boarding a tour bus for a trip through the only public-accessible airliner assembly plant in North America at the nearby Boeing factory, where the 747, 767 and 777 aircraft are turned out for the world’s airlines. Later this year, the high-tech, composite-bodied 787 airliner will begin production.

Returning to the aviation center, through the huge Boeing gift store filled with aircraft models and aviation-themed clothing and souvenirs, visitors can stop by the Future of Flight gift store for Pacific Northwest salmon and other products, visit the cafeteria and then down the ramp to the floor of the aviation gallery.

In the airplane design zone, visitors can learn the technological elements of flight, design their own airliner on computer screens or sit in the Boeing Connexion Theater airliner mock-up to see some of the technology that will soon greet them in real airliners.

There are narrated videos on airline development, a barrel section of a 787 airliner to touch, an XJ5 flight simulator for supersonic flights, a propulsion zone for learning about engines, mockups of airliner cockpits to sit in and a future-concepts zone to learn about new composite materials and manufacturing techniques.

Operated by the nonprofit Future of Flight Foundation, the facility is a public and private venture by Snohomish County, the Snohomish County Public Facilities District and the Boeing Co.

The fee for both the Boeing tour and admission to the Future of Flight Aviation Center is $15 for adults, $14 for seniors and military, and $8 for children 6 to 15. The XJ5 flight simulator has its own fee. Parking is free.

For more information, and to make reservations for the Boeing tours, visit www.futureofflight.org on the Internet or call 800-464-1476.

Related: Museum of Flight puts courage on display

Back to the top/January 2006 Main Menu