Wednesday, 21 November 2007

19th November – Seattle, WA, USA

If you come to Seattle, you have to go and have a tour of the Boeing factory! This complex is massive and the shed is the world’s biggest shed, it’s even in the Guinness Book of World Records. It was a cool and wet day, so an indoors trip was the best way to spend it.

First up, was the “flight of the future” displays. We both have spent a lot time on planes and seeing them in a different light, that is, up close and personal was good. The tail fins on these large jet air liners are large and the engines, unlike myth busters showed the other night, can suck you in. Captain Tan and First Officer Dan, took this leg of the flight.
My best Austin Power’s impersonation.. haaalp!!!
There was also a cut away section of fuselage and the interior of the new 787 Dreamliner, Boeing largest passenger plane.

After hanging out there, we went on the camera free Boeing factory tour. Impressive! This shed was huge and there were 747’s in the distance and either side of our fourth level viewing platform were the 777 assembly line complete with four planes in varying phases of assembly. The other side had the 787 Dreamliner, the new series. This plane was painted up and was shown to the world on the 7th August, 2007 (07/08/07) but was incomplete on the inside. The plane has had some setbacks and so far hasn’t hit the skies. We saw the first 787 and another one was in the line up. This plane is made from carbon fibre, so it has less pieces, less fasteners and 65% larger windows. They expect it to be in the air around March next year.

Outside we saw the Dream lifter, a 747 that has been modified to fit 787 pieces from around the world. Imagine a 747 attached to a glass blower’s pipe, a few minutes in the oven and few quick blows, yep, this was Boeing’s attempt at the Michelin Man plane! On the line up outside awaiting test flights were planes for Angola Airlines, Korean Air, Qatar Airlines. Driving back past the runway a brand spanking 777 for Emirates embarked on it’s maiden voyage to Dubai!

That night, on a recommendation from Hornado, we went to Benihana, a Japanese restaurant. Our traditional teppanyaki chef (from Mexico) did an awesome job. An onion ring volcano, complete with flames was the highlight. The food cooked in front of your eyes, the speed, the skill, the entertainment and the taste made it well worth it. We met some people from Seattle, Ray, Hanya and Ella, who were great company. The Teppanyaki experience is something we want to do again!! Good choice, Horn.
We walked home with Seattle starting to light up with Christmas decorations.

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