August 22, 2007

August 22, 2007

We have a reservation for a tour of Boeing’s commercial jet assembly plant this morning. We drive 45 minutes south to the factory location in Everett, WA. Unfortunately there are no cameras allowed on the tour. They first have us watch the 4-5 month assembly process in fast-forward in a seven-minute film. From there we board busses that take us to the assembly building, the largest building by volume in the world. We watch a few 747’s under construction. The 747 is on its last legs; it is no longer made for passenger use, only for cargo service. The tour is a little disappointing as not only is it not free we only get to watch the process for about 15 minutes. When I was in college I had a couple summer jobs at McDonnell-Douglas in St. Louis and I got to watch fighter jets being built up close and personal. That was far more interesting.

At the tour center, they also have a bunch of exhibits on commercial jets. Most are uninteresting. Boeing is counting on its new 787 coming out next year to stave off inroads by Europe’s Airbus consortium. If successful it should, as the 787 will be mostly made of graphite and glue compared to aluminum and rivets. The weight savings alone will improve fuel efficiency by 20%.

We spend the night at a private park just outside Seattle in Bellevue, WA.