When you are an airline customer that drops a few hundred million on some new Boeing aircraft, sometimes you just want your pilots to pick up the plane and go. Other times you might want a celebration. Either way, it should always be exciting every time that Boeing hands over the keys to a customer.
Previously, if an airline just wanted to pick up their plane with little fanfare, they would just pick it up at the Everett Delivery Center (EDC), located on the east side of Paine Field in Everett, WA. If the airline wanted some attention, they would take delivery of their plane at the the Future of Flight across the runway (see Air New Zealand’s first Boeing 777-300ER delivery). There was not much in between.
View of what Boeing expects the new Everett Delivery Center to look like. Photo from Boeing. Click for larger.
Yesterday, Boeing broke ground on a new delivery center, which will make the picking up experience better for customers picking up their brand spanking new Boeing 747, 767, 777 or 787.
The current facility was built in the late 1960s and then renovated in 2006. The new facility, which will be 180,000 sq ft (vs 60,000 of the old one), is expected to open in early 2013.
“Our customers are demanding our products like never before,” said Jeff Klemann, vice president of the delivery center. “As we build more airplanes at faster and faster rates, we also need a world-class facility to conduct our delivery operations. The new Everett Delivery Center will be more than just a building; it’s an investment in our customers, our local community, our employees and Boeing’s future.”
The new Everett Delivery Center from the opposite view. Photo from Boeing. Click for larger.
When asked if the Future of Flight will still play a role in future deliveries, Elizabeth Fischtziur with Boeing Everett Site Communications explained to AirlineReporter.com, “We will continue to work with our airline customers to custom design delivery ceremonies to meet their needs. While the majority of ceremonies will take place at the EDC in our new delivery lounge, it is possible that we will continue to use the Future of Flight from time to time.”
Boeing explained that while the new site is being built, “interim delivery plans are in place,” including the possibility of delivering on the flight line.
Have no fear! I would expect large deliveries, like Lufthansa’s first 747-8 Intercontinental and United’s first Boeing 787 Dreamliner will most likely have ceremonies at the Future of Flight with great fanfare.
A group from Aviation Geek Fest pose in front of a 777 GE90 engine on the Boeing factory floor. Photo by Boeing.
This weekend was the third Aviation Geek Fest and I think it was a success! We had people come from Denver, Calgary, Vancouver, Dallas and even New York City to share their passion for aviation. In all, about 70 people attended the event and were able to experience unique aviation activities.
The day started with a nice welcome by a Boeing 747 Dreamlifter taking off from Paine Field as some aviation geeks gathered to watch on the Future of Flight’s Strato Deck. Afterwards, folks had the opportunity to check out the Future of Flight’s gallery before we divided into four different tour groups: Boeing Factory Floor Tour, Boeing Dreamliner Gallery, Paine Field Fire Department Tour and How to Become an Airline Pilot with Regal Air.
The folks that took the fire department tour were given a ride in style.
Since I have been lucky enough to get a few factory floor tours and a view inside the Dreamliner Gallery, I decided to take the Paine Field’s Fire Department tour and was not disappointed.
I heard that the rest of the events went great and I am kind of hoping that some of you that were able to go on the other tours can leave your impressions in the comments.
Not only did we get to ride on a fire bus, but we also got to stop and take photos of airplanes.
I went on this tour not to write a story on the fire department (although I hope they welcome me back for one), but I was going as an aviation geek. This means I was able to fully enjoy myself, take photos, ask interesting questions, but did not having to worry about taking notes — like a true avgeek.
Although the actual fire station was very interesting, getting there was half the fun. We were picked up in a the fire department’s Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) bus and were followed by a fire truck. This was in case something were to happen at the airport, the fire personnel in the bus, could hop on the truck and take care of any situation.
There are quite a few Boeing 787s and 747s still waiting to be delivered.
As we headed towards the fire department, on the other side of Paine Field, we stopped and were given some wonderful photo opportunities of the airport. It was nice to be able to see aircraft from angles I have never seen before, while being escorted by a fire truck. The kid in me was quite pleased.
Once we arrived at the fire station, it was time for our tour. The station is still rather new and has everything needed to take care of most incidents that might occur at Paine Field. The airport actually has two fire departments; the one we toured that is operated by Snohomish County and a second that is operated by Boeing. They work together to insure proper airport operations.
The Snohomish County’s main duty is to take care of the airport and private operators, while Boeing’s department is to watch after all the new 777, 767, 787 and 747-8 aircraft.
Planes and fire trucks -- what more could you want?
Although there were so many questions that one could ask about an airport fire operation, my big question was if I could turn on the fire truck lights — and I did. A life long dream was finally accomplished.
Seth Miller, who was also on the tour, put on all the fire gear that a person would need during an emergency situation. It make me hot just thinking about sporting all the gear while fighting a fire.
At the end of the tour, one of the fire rigs pulled outside and showed off its two water cannons on the front of the engine. The largest cannon on the roof is capable of pumping out around 1500 gallons of water per minute, which is sure to help put out most fires.
Cathay Pacific Boeing 747-8F sits next to Lufthansa's Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental.
As we headed back to the Future of Flight, we had some additional opportunities to plane spot and enjoy our drive around Paine Field. Although it is a bit sad to see so many aircraft waiting to be delivered, it provides photo opportunities that will soon no longer be possible.
After everyone returned from their separate tours, we received a presentation from a team of the Boeing Moonshine group who specialize in making production lines as efficient as possible. They are a MacGyver-like team that will build tools and equipment on the spot to help the productivity of supply lines around the world. Their accomplishments has allowed Boeing and their suppliers to become more efficient and able to do more with the same or less space.
Teams of eight got a lesson in supply line management, while building souvenirs.
After their talk, we were taken to another room where the avgeeks gathered eight to a table and were given the task of building an unknown item in a short amount of time. At first it was not so clear what the items were, but after fiddling around, it started to become obvious that they were customized business card holders.
When they completed the first round, they had to take them all a part again, the Moonshine team gave them better instructions and explained that they wanted eight of them built in 1minute and 50 seconds. The first team, who celebrated their quickness, completed theirs in less than a minute. An impressive feat, but they did not end up winning the competition.
It was a lesson in how a supply chain successfully functions. You cannot be late, but you also cannot be too early. It is about delivering your product right on time and the team that was closest to the delivery schedule of 1min and 50 seconds became the actual winner.
Members of the Boeing Moonshine team give a presentation to the aviation geek fest.
Once our supply chain tasks were completed, it was time to head to the Future of Flight Cafe to enjoy pizza, soda and beer while handing out prizes that were donated by United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and the Future of Flight. Luckily there were enough that everyone received at least one thing, but I was so into the socializing and talking about airplanes that I managed not to take one photo of this part of the event — oh well.
I think overall, it was an amazing event and I always love getting around others that share my passion of aviation and airlines. A huge thanks to the Future of Flight and Boeing for working to make this event unforgettable and to United for donating gifts and for Southwest to not only donating gifts, but also having one of their bloggers attend.
You better believe there will be another in the future and I hope that you will be able to join us.
The time is getting near. On Sunday February 19, 2012, the Future of Flight, Boeing and AirlineReporter.com will host the third Aviation Geek Fest (#AGF12) at Paine Field. What is Aviation Geek Fest? It is a chance for aviation lovers to come together in Seattle and share their passion and get to do a few cool things. Aviation Geek Fest in 2009 and 2010 were great successes and this one will be better than ever!
Tickets are on sale NOW get yours before they are gone! Check out the full schedule below. Anyone from around the world is welcome to join us. This experience and the memories from it will be well worth a plane ticket and a hotel.
The Aviation Geek Fest 2010 peeps pose in front of a GE90 engine on a Boeing 777. Photo from Boeing.
Tentative (as in 99% chance everything will happen as below) Schedule for Aviation Geek Fest 2012:
8:00am: Free Aviation Photography Class @ the Future of Flight The Pacific Northwest Aviation Photographers abbreviated Basic Aviation Photography Class will cover the essential basics of judging images, selecting equipment, understanding what settings to use and why, and other specialized topics such as RAW versus JPEG and placing yourself for optimal light. The class is designed to bring everyone up to a basic level of understanding about aviation photography.
ELITE TICKETS ($20.00) REQUIRED FOR THESE TWO OPTIONS:
12:30pm: ELITE Meet and Greet
Check in at the Future of Flight and meet the other aviation geeks participating at #AGF12. Share stories, meet people that write on airlines, work for airlines and those who are just fans.
2:00pm: ELITE Adventure Ticket
Guests will pre-register for one of a several aviation adventures:
* Boeing factory floor tour [SOLD OUT]: The Boeing factory is open to the public, but #AGF12 participants will get VIP treatment with a tour on the actual floor. Note: no cameras will be allowed on this event.
* Dreamliner Gallery Tour [SOLD OUT]: Every airline that buys a 787 Dreamliner goes through this gallery to pick and choose what they want inside their aircraft. This facility is not generally open to the public.
* Paine Field Fire Department Tour [TICKETS AVAILABLE]: Getting there will be half the fun. Take a van from the Future of Flight, along the Paine Field flight line (with all the new Boeing aircraft), take photos as you go and then take a tour of the airport’s fire station with Chief Jeff Bohnet.
* Learn How to be an Airline Pilot [TICKETS AVAILABLE]: Just like the Fire Department tour, you will take a ride across the airport and be transported by all the new Boeing planes and after you arrive, you will learn what it would take to become an airline pilot by the professionals at Regal Air.
GENERAL TICKETS ($10.00 – these events are included if you purchase ELITE tickets):
3:30pm: Boeing Moonshine Presentation and Demonstration @ the Future of Flight
Who is the Moonshine Lab? They are a part of Boeing’s Lean Supplier Management Operations. Aviation Geek Fest participants will learn how the Moonshine Lab experts work inside the factory and around the world to streamline processes to save time and money. They are both innovative and scrappy often times making their own tools to get a job done. #AGF12 attendees will have an opportunity to experience a supply chain exercise themselves and even come away with a souvenir.
5:00pm: Aviation Geek Fest Social @ the Future of Flight
Food and drink will be served while you can tour the Future of Flight, get to know folks, take photos in the cockpit of a Boeing 727 and more. Awesome prizes will also be awarded to participants.
There will be a few other surprises added in as well. Stay tuned and make sure to sign up for the Aviation Geek Fest 2012 mailing list for all the latest details.
This was originally posted 2/12/2012 2pm and was last updated 2/15/2012 3:30pm
Starting at about 1pm on 2/9 and ending on the morning of 2/10, Boeing 787 ZA236 created this epic design. Click for larger. Image from FlightAware.com.
The fact that Boeing just spent almost 19 hours flying one of their 787 Dreamliners around the country, creating a “787” and Boeing logo has multiple levels to it. First, it is just frek’n awesome. Even though Boeing made a “747” in the sky recently with a 747-8F and also flew over 48 states with a 747-8I, this one takes the cake. Those other two mostly required straight lines and really the “747” was a bit shaky. Not only were these 787 pilots able to successfully make a “787,” but also the full Boeing logo — what an accomplishment. Not quite sure how a pilot might put that on their resume, but I hope that they do!
Boeing’s goal for the flight was not just to make a cool design in the sky, but to also put the GEnx-1B engines to the test. From Randy Tinseth, vice president, marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, stated this morning on his blog, “It was an 18 hour Maximum ETOPS (Extended Operations) Duration flight test for a 787-8 with GE engines. Our team coordinated with the many air traffic control centers, choosing the routing to avoid restricted airspace. In the end, the flight covered over 9,000 nautical miles.”
ZA236 inside the Boeing factory on 9/25/11. Photo by AirlineReporter.com
Boeing had a task to operate a 787 Dreamliner for a long test flight and they could have easily ran a big circle or up and down the coast. Instead, they decided to put in quite a few hours to plan and execute this historic sky-writing flight.
I am sure that Boeing was hoping to keep this a surprise, but I know there are many fans out there who track every movement of every Boeing 787 Dreamliner and it is hard to keep this sort of thing hidden from the internet — especially when it takes almost 19 hours to complete.
So cheers to Boeing for pulling this off and to those eagle eyes who caught it!
This is a live shot (well about 5min old) of flight aware catching a Boeing 787 Dreamliner taking an interesting route east across the US. It might look a bit like a “787” and the future path is showing that it might be in the process of making a “-8.”
I gave a quick call to Boeing and they aren’t will to say what is going on (yet), but I expect more details to be released once the plane lands back at 7am at KBFI (where it took off). Until then, you can spend the next 12 hours watching this Dreamliner make an epic flight.
UPDATE 7:45PM
Wow, I didn’t zoom out enough (thanks Pat) … The flight path shows not only are they making a “787-8” but also the entire Boeing logo. You might be an AvGeek if watching this live gives you goose bumps! This is truly a work of art.
Did the special flight of this Boeing 787 get called off? Or is Flight Aware showing wrong info.
UPDATE 7:55PM
Uh oh… the flight status is not showing the full Boeing logo anymore and now the aircraft is heading back to KBFI, with a return time of 10:51PM PST.
UPDATE 8:05PM
Flight Aware is not known to be the most accurate and now the landing time is showing at 8:34pm. My guess is the 787 is continuing on with its full logo.
On track to do the full logo.
UPDATE 8:20PM
Looks like the plane is making a nice arch up to the northeast and a sharp turn to the southeast, meaning it is still on track to make the full logo. According to Jon Ostrower, this is aircraft is ZA236 (which is set to be delivered to Air India) and is working the final flying certification flights for the GEnx-1B engines.
Gotta love Flight Aware.
Taken at 9:05PM PST, Flight Aware is back to showing the original flight plan that we haven't seen for a while.
UPDATE 8:55PM
Yea, I am going with Flight Aware doesn’t know what is going on. Looks like the aircraft is on target to making the origional design and I am not quite sure what this one is supposed to be.
What a cool design!
UPDATE 2/10 7:15AM
As most of the US slept last night, the Boeing 787 kept on its mission to mark the sky with a full Boeing logo. As of now, the Dreamliner is still in the air and is scheduled to land at Paine Field at about 8:30am. The aircraft is taking the same journey west as it did east, back tracking over the original “787.”
