Discovering Seattle: The Boeing Plant

Often it is the things in our own backyard that we never get around to seeing. We make a point to visit specific places when we travel, but often we fail to visit the attractions in our own hometown. Such was the case with the Boeing Plant. I knew the company offered tours, but in 40 years I had never visited. I finally changed that after a friend recently told me about his experience.

The tour of the Boeing Plant is actually a fairly popular activity in the Seattle area. Seeing the construction of an airplane attracts the interest of all kinds of people, some with a connection to the industry, others just curious to see what it’s like.

Winter is a great time to visit. During the summer the tours can get pretty full. Tours can handle about 40 people which is a pretty large group. However, in my group there were only 14 people so it was a much more intimate and personal setting. Boeing encourages visitors to get their tickets online ahead of time, especially in the busy summer months. Visitors can purchase tickets at the door if any are available. Tours happen throughout the day, every day, but on weekends there is generally no manufacturing activity going on. The tour is not free, and prices vary depending on age, etc. Of course it should be pointed out that there are no tours now during the time of the COVID-19 crisis in the Seattle area. However it would be a good activity to add to your to-do list once this is over.

The Boeing Plant is north of Seattle and most likely you will need to drive up as public transportation is a bit challenging. It’s fairly easy to find, however. It’s pretty much just taking one exit off the I-5 freeway just past Lynnwood. The trick is to realize the signs will say “The Future of Flight” not Boeing Tour. Parking seemed adequate and is close.

The Future of Flight

Visitors are encouraged to arrive a half hour before the tour starts. I might suggest even earlier. The reason is to allow yourself time to visit Boeing’s exhibit called The Future of Flight. Here you will find a number of displays and hands on activities about where Boeing sees flight headed in the future. You could easily spend 45 minutes here. I spent about 20 minutes before the tour. I thought I would come back after the tour to see more. However, at the end of the time, I was tired and didn’t go back. It’s possible to pay just to see this exhibit, but I’m not sure its worth it unless you are really into aviation.

Before the tour starts you need to put all your electronics in a locker. Yes, that includes phones and cameras. Photography is not allowed on the tour. That was the most frustrating part for me. The lockers are free to use and just inside the entrance door. You set your own combination with four dials, put your things inside, and then close and scramble the code. Just remember which locker you chose.

Touring the Plant

The tour starts in a large auditorium where visitors watch films extolling the virtues of Boeing while they wait to begin. After some information and guidance from the tour guide, visitors board a very nice, comfortable bus for a short ride over to the plant. Accommodations can be made for those who have physical challenges. Just check before you book your tickets if they can meet your needs.

The Boeing Plant is the largest building in the world by volume. Inside there are a number of planes being assembled so you can image how large the building has to be. On the outside a large painted mural illustrates elements of Boeing’s work. Opposite the main plant is the building where they paint the planes. That building was pointed out to us, but it was not part of the tour.

On my particular tour there were apparently some deviations from the norm so your tour may be a bit different. We were dropped off at one end of the building and went down stairs to the basement under the main floor. In the long hallways we could see a lot of the pipes and mechanical elements of the building itself. We boarded a large freight elevator which took us up to a viewing area. I believe this was a variations as it was not the normal viewing balcony. The guide used a microphone and speaker here, but it was a bit difficult to hear her.

From this viewpoint visitors can look down and see the work going on below. The first section is where they assemble some of the older style planes. You can see the different stages of the assembly process. There are a lot of people using computers, apparently engineers. There are also stacks of materials that will be used for the planes, and you will see some of them being taken into the planes. The guide explains what the plane styles are and some of the history of the planes.

After you have spent some time at this balcony, you will return to the bus and go to a different part of the building. Again you will go up in a freight elevator from the basement. This time we were in the normal viewing area. The speakers here were better quality and easier to understand.

In this section of the building the newer plane models are constructed. Carbon fiber is the topic here. It is used for the shell of the plane as the newest technological advancement. With these planes the assembly process uses more robotic devices to do the work. It was a little hard to tell what the workers did here. I took the 1:00 tour, and the shift changes at 2:00 so workers were coming and going at this second viewing point. If you want to really see the work done, this tour time is not optimal for that. A morning time is probably the best.

From this viewpoint there were planes being assembled on both sides of the viewing platform so there was actually more to see. There were also a few posters and hands on displays in the viewing platform to help educate you.

This was the final stop inside the plant. Back on the bus we drove by areas where there were various large plane pieces. Our guide told us that the company does not stock anything here for the long term. Materials are fairly quickly installed on a plane so they don’t really need to warehouse anything.

The Sky Deck

The bus eventually arrives back at the initial location and drops everyone off at the entrance to the gift shop. Where else? There you can buy a variety of shirts, key chains, and even old pieces of planes.

A final place to visit before you leave is the Sky Deck. This is at the top of the building and offers you a view of Paine Field. Paine Field has recently become a commercial airport for United and Alaska Airlines. You can see flights of those companies as well as private planes coming and going. It’s also the best spot to take pictures of the plant. From here you can see the Cascade Mountains east of the plant, and on a good day Mt. Rainier to the south.

One unique experience I had was seeing the Boeing 747 Dreamlifter. Our guide told us there are only five of these planes. They are used solely for transporting the large pieces for the 787 Dreamliner from other parts of the world so it has a unique shape to be able to handle those pieces. It was parked while we were on our tour, and then took off shortly after we returned as I watched from the Sky Deck.

The tour lasts 90 minutes. With the early arrival and staying a bit longer to watch the Dreamlifter, I was probably there about two and a half hours. I found the tour interesting and informative. If you have any interest in aviation, this would definitely be a must do activity. Seattle has a lot to offer, and for some this may be one of the best experiences of your time here.