Quick trip to Seattle - Museum of Flight

[RooFlyer]

The Museum of Flight has been covered a couple of times (most recently earlier today by PaulST!!), but here we go again.

I had a Friday and Saturday to kill while in Calgary, so I used 15,000 Alaska Air miles plus US$86 for a return flight YYC-SEA-YYC, on a Q400 Bombardier, leaving Friday about lunch time and returning Saturday afternoon. I stayed overnight at the Crowne Plaza at SeaTac airport.

Here are some teasers. Not hard to guess the subjects!








Warning - unlike the first 3, the next pic does not have the same subject in both frames.




And ... LH: so that's where the big reclining thing came from! And may well the window passenger look concerned at the passenger being reclined into! RH: I learned that staircases in the sky preceded the 747 by a long way!

 

[RooFlyer]

I'll mix it up a bit, as not everyone will be interested in the 'icons' parked outside.


A panorama of the Great Gallery:




From the WW2 gallery - a Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk IX at left, and a Messerschmitt BF 109-E on right (I'm going to be careful with the names, but please forgive (and correct) any errors!)





Left, a WB47E Stratojet (1947); right, a B17F Flying Fortress (1945)




Left, a Lockheed 1049G Super Constellation ( 1954) ; right, AWACs parked nearby, not part of the museum




Let: un-recorded aircraft; right, Lockheed Blackbird M-21(1963) with D21-B drone affixed on back.

 

[RooFlyer]

Left: the nose of the Blackbird; right, the Taylor Aerocar III (1968) 'A plane in every garage'.




Of course: BA Concord (oops, I didn't get details). Intrigued by the little wheel at the rear - I assume it was deployed to prevent tail strike on take-off??




Inside the cabin and the coughpit. Very analogue!!




One of the great things about visiting the Museum of Flight is the active runway next door (and flights from SeaTac not that high overhead, having taken off from SeaTac). A Silkair landing, and (I don't know what it is, sorry - anyone?) on its take-off roll.




Back inside the Great Gallery, left: a WW2 buzz-bomb As 109-014and right: RQ-3A Darkstar high altitude endurance 'drone' (1996) built for the USAF.

 

[JohnM]

IIRC, the runway next door is for the Boeing factory where they make 737s.

 

[RooFlyer]

Again of course: Boeing VC-137B "Air Force One". It was the first presidential jet, and entered service in May 1959. Dwight Eisenhower was the first Presidential passenger, in August of that year. Nikita Khrushchev used it to tour the USA in September 1959 ( :shock: ). Then it served Presidents Kennedy and Johnson but in October 1962, a new aircraft was designated the primary Presidential transport. In 1969 it took Apollo 11 astronauts to Perth and it shuttled Kissinger around during the Nixon Presidency. The plane was finally retired in May 1996.





The conference room and on right, the safes where nuclear codes were stored when the Prez was in flight.




coughpit and the Chief Executive's loo.




Front cabin; communications station.




Non executive loos, at the very back; the outside of the plane again.

 

[RooFlyer]

A Bell UH-1H Iroquois helicopter ( 1970) aka a 'Huey', Vietnam war veteran; RH: Lockheed Model 10E Electra (1935) fitted out exactly as Amelia Earhart had it when she was flying around the world in 1937 and disappeared in the Pacific ocean.




A Mikoyan-Gurevich "MiG"-15 (1950), acquired by a collector from China in 1990. RH; Mystery!! Any guesses??



Over-view pics of the great gallery and the WW2 gallery; I may have more from the WW1 and WW2 galleries later.




The space exhibits are of a lesser quality; they have missed out on some prominent 'wants' over the years.

LH a trainer Lunar Rover; RH a trainer mock-up of the space shuttle (the Museum built this, a huge hangar when they bid for an actual Shutttle, but missed out. A benefactor donated this training mock-up.




A decent sized chunk of moon rock . Great stuff. RH: Test Apollo Command Module #7A.

 

[RooFlyer]

Just realised skipped the start of this trip , so lets re-wind a bit.

As mentioned, it was an Award flight on Alaska Airways YYC-SEA in a Q400 Bombardier. A little squeezy, but only a couple of hours. I had an ailse seat down the back and I wish I had a window. it was a fine day and the scenery first going across the Rockies and then over the Cascades was truly magnificent.




Another feature of flying AS is the FAs - very nice, chatty etc. They serve north-west 'craft' beer and perfectly decent north-west wines in whY, and the pours keep coming!! A very pleasant trip.

I arrived at SEA about 1pm and my Crowne Plaza room wasn't ready, so I stowed the backpack at the hotel and caught the light rail downtown. The CP is right at the LR station, so really handy; about 30 mins into downtown.

I hadn't been downtown Seattle before, so just mooched along, knowing that I wanted to be at the Pike Markets late arvo. First impressions were very good!! A nice selection of black diorite rocks (carved with something) and a miner's welcome!!




It was a gorgeous day, and Pike Market was buzzing. I had a late lunch at one of the seafood placed (expensive, especially with the FX, but like SFO's Pier 43, its just for the experience). Clam chowder and garlic steamed clams, washed down with a couple of Kilt-lifters.






At Pike Place I was intrigued to see the original Starbucks store, and here are some pictures ... of the shops either side of the Starbucks! . I didn't stay to find out the significance of the 'smalls' on display on the RH shop.

 

[RooFlyer]

So back to the Museum of Flight.

More from the WW1 and WW2 galleries. These are housed in a large, windowless hanger which makes it overall much less attractive than the light and airy Grand Gallery; much less than half the visitors, by the look.

Sopwith and Fokker triplanes (both reproductions)




LH: P-510 Mustang; RH: undescribed.




A unique feature of the site is the original Boeing manufacturing shed, "The Red Barn" which was relocated to here in 1975. The ground floor is set up as a display of the original manufacturing areas, offices etc. Upstairs are static displays on Boeings after WW2, civil and military.







I knew there was a 747 here, but couldn't find it, until I looked behind where a new display shed s being built. The 747 is off display - I think it is airframe #1, but not sure, as there was no reference to it in the public areas.

Lastly, I had lunch at the Wings café. I think this chilli dog was called a B52. Probably appropriate.

 

[RooFlyer]

Wrapping up.


Last pic from the Museum of Flight is of a pic of the crew rest area on the 787. That's the stairs coming up the middle- looks like a number of roomy bed spaces; good to see. (It wasn't a publically allowed space on my visit.)



I stayed at the SeaTac Crowne Plaza, for its airport proximity and the Light rail station. It was quite OK, except for the position of the aircon. It directed air flow right over the head of the bed, and had 2 settings: Hurricane, and Off.




The ride back; SEA isn't a bad airport to be in without lounge access; a nice sunny seating area and a number of drinks / dining options.




Often when they order a Starbucks in Nth America, they ask for a name. I don't see the need for my name to be broadcast about, so I just say my first initial, "M". This is nearly always met with "How do spell that?" To which I reply "M" (as in em). Usually still gets puzzled looks and the cup comes back with a variety of attempts to spell "M". This was Starbucks SEA's attempt . Once again, the view of the Cascade mountains, then the Rockies between SEA and YYC was fantastic. I shouldn't include the RH pic, as it does noting justice.




SEA to YYC again on a Q400. this time in seat 2D, an exit row with scads of leg room. At YYC, what happens when they use an air bridge to connect to a Q400 with its stairs and holding rail deployed (as they must be when the door opens)? A dinky little spanning bridge is dropped down!



The. End.

 

[bosox76]

Great photos. If you only had time to visit one of either the Museum of Flight of the Boeing factory tour which would you choose? I'll be in SEA for a day and a, unlikely to be able to convince Mrs B to attend both. I won't have a car either. Thanks.

 

[ckck]

I did both back in 2011. They are both worth seeing and if I was pressed to choose just one I would have to think carefully about what I want to see more. Planes being built in an active factory or a museum full of planes. I suppose you can only see Boeing aircraft at the Boeing factory. Where there are planes dotted around the world in museums but not as many in one place as what you would see at the Museum of Flight.

I suppose it is a hard question to ask me b/c I found both tours worthwhile.

I visited both the Museum of Flight and the Boeing factory by using the local public transport i.e. travelling on a public bus, I found them to be punctual and the system was easy to use.

The hotel I was staying at could organise a tour to the Boeing factory in Everett by shuttle bus where they bus you up in a coach, you go on the tour, give you a few minutes in the shop and then bus you back to Seattle. If you did the morning tour you would probably have some time in the afternoon to go to the Museum of Flight

I am sorry I haven't clearly answered your question but both options are really good but for different reasons.

 

[bosox76]

Thanks for the reply. The organised tour in the morning isn't a bad idea and if I have time then hit the museum which is closer to town. Might try and convince Mrs B that she can go to Nordstrom while I head off for the tour.

 

[seanpodge]

IIRC, the runway next door is for the Boeing factory where they make 737s.

Correct. It's also a public airport.

 

[seanpodge]

Great photos. If you only had time to visit one of either the Museum of Flight of the Boeing factory tour which would you choose? I'll be in SEA for a day and a, unlikely to be able to convince Mrs B to attend both. I won't have a car either. Thanks.

To butt in rudely with my opinion, I went to both about three months ago and while both are pretty good, I'd probably choose the Museum over the Factory. The museum has lots of different planes you can look at and even explore inside some. It also has some interesting exhibits about space travel. If you have a fine day like I did, you can also just sit outside the cafe watching the planes take off and land across the fence. Very pleasant for those into such things.

The factory in my opinion was a little limited. The tour just took you to some viewing platforms about 6 stories high to let you see the factory floor for a few minutes before being herded to another part of the factory. No photos allowed either. Also, I felt the tour guide was a bit too keen in talking up Boeing.

The other issue is the lack of car, which will make getting to the factory difficult (or expensive if you want to use a taxi/uber). The Museum is between Seatac and downtown and therefore much easier to get to. Doing both in one day would be tough with no car.

 

[dodgeyhack]

To butt in rudely with my opinion, I went to both about three months ago and while both are pretty good, I'd probably choose the Museum over the Factory. The museum has lots of different planes you can look at and even explore inside some. It also has some interesting exhibits about space travel. If you have a fine day like I did, you can also just sit outside the cafe watching the planes take off and land across the fence. Very pleasant for those into such things.

You can also go for a fly. There's a company offering joy flights on the airport side of the museum.
They have a choice of a bunch of vintage planes ranging from about 1935-1945. I went up in the 1940 Waco UPF-7 and it was a hoot.

 

[JessicaTam]

To butt in rudely with my opinion, I went to both about three months ago and while both are pretty good, I'd probably choose the Museum over the Factory. The museum has lots of different planes you can look at and even explore inside some. It also has some interesting exhibits about space travel. If you have a fine day like I did, you can also just sit outside the cafe watching the planes take off and land across the fence. Very pleasant for those into such things.

The factory in my opinion was a little limited. The tour just took you to some viewing platforms about 6 stories high to let you see the factory floor for a few minutes before being herded to another part of the factory. No photos allowed either. Also, I felt the tour guide was a bit too keen in talking up Boeing.

The other issue is the lack of car, which will make getting to the factory difficult (or expensive if you want to use a taxi/uber). The Museum is between Seatac and downtown and therefore much easier to get to. Doing both in one day would be tough with no car.

It was 7 or 8 years ago that I went to the factory, but it was an easy trip by bus with one connection to get there (and back) when I did it. Not saying both would be possible, just that the factory is an option.

 

[ckck]

If you are interested in taking the bus I took the 510/512 (route number depends on time of day) and it takes around an hour from Seattle to Everett (the bus terminus is at the train station). There is a taxi rank (or at least there was in 2011) at the station and I took a taxi from Everett train station to Boeing. I can't remember exactly how long the taxi ride to Boeing was but it wasn't too long, maybe 15 mins or so.

So it is very much doable, especially if you arrive for the first tour of the day.

Looking forward to your trip report

 

[bosox76]

Thanks everyone for your responses. Much appreciated. Might aim for museum of flight as the priority and of time
allows consider the Factory tour.

 

[kermatu]

Hopefully not too late, but I did both on a trip which included Seattle about 5 years ago. I'd strongly recommend the MoF as the better option if you can only do one. But visits to both by public bus are very easy but do add a fair bit of time. I found taxis in Seattle rather cheap so worth considering if pushed for time.

I was extremely lucky in my visit to the museum to not only view several touch and go's from aircraft doing test / rating flights (including a 787) but also to witness and then participate in a live video hook-up of school kids with astronauts in the ISS. Was a session setup for kids from a local school. Once they left the feed was still open so a few of the museum visitors were invited to come up and speak with the astronauts. I asked one fairly benign question but once they discovered I was from Australia all of them raved about us and the views from space. Nothing remarkable about the conversation but the fact I spoke live with astronauts in space will stick with me forever.

 

[serfty]

Noice report.

Did both in June 2006 and for mine, the MoF was far better.

I stayed in the SEA-TAC area, using a rental car. Drove to "Boeing Field" and the MoF early morning before heading up to Everett and the factory tour for a later in day tour booking. In hindsight I would have spent another 3 hours at Boeing Field.