See the Future on the Boeing Tour

Last week I had fun being a tourist in my own city. I visited the Future of Flight Gallery and the Boeing plant.

I don't consider myself an aviation buff but I was curious to see the biggest building in the world by volume.

Factory interior. The Everett plant currently builds four types of airplanes. Source: Boeing Co. — *Factory interior. The Everett plant currently builds four types of airplanes. Source: Boeing Co.*

I've driven past Boeing in South Everett a thousand times.

Here’s the thing about the inside of the sprawling plant: it’s disorienting in its scope. It's dizzying as you look out at a vast Where’s Waldo of aerospace assembly.

*787 assembly line as seen from the tour. The Everett Boeing plant has restaurants, a gym, yoga and massage. It's a micro-city. Some say that the HVAC gives the building its own climate.*

I went with Tyler and Garret from Live in Everett. We started our trip at the Future of Flight Gallery in South Everett. The museum is built like a huge hangar. Inside is a restaurant, a gift shop, and interactive exhibits.

There are international flags hanging from the rafters. That's a telling detail: the tour is attended by tourists from around the globe. On our tour I heard people speaking Japanese, German, and Spanish.

We looked inside the Future of Flight Gallery before the tour began.

We walked inside a replica of the Destiny Module, part of the International Space Station (astronauts use cameras with powerful telephoto lenses to snap pictures of the Earth through floor windows like the one pictured above).

I hopped inside a 727 cockpit and checked out giant airplane engines.

Then it was tour time.

We boarded a tour bus and rode past Paine Field to the plant itself.

For the next hour and a half we trailed our tour guide, Amanda, at a brisk pace through underground tunnels, up freight elevators, and on and off buses as we navigated the huge building, viewing the production lines from several angles.

How big is the plant? The Everett Boeing facility is 98.3 acres and growing. 35,000 employees work there. It’s big enough to house the entire Disneyland theme park.

Standing three stories up, looking down at a highly-complex maze of components, cranes, computers, and cubicles I realized that this place is basically a city within a city.

Very cool.

This was something entirely out of my day to day norm, a world class attraction, and it's a ten minute drive from my house.

I saw the future of flight being assembled before my eyes.

WHEN YOU GO

Want to play tourist in Everett? Here are a few tips for your Boeing/Future of Flight visit.

1. Wear comfy shoes. There's plenty of walking at a brisk pace.

2. Be prepared to be offline for an hour and a half. There are absolutely no phones allowed on the tour. They provide lockers where you can store your electronics.

3. No pictures allowed. But the tour comes with a complimentary photo that you can email to yourself for the social media check-in.

4. Have fun! Go get boggled.