The Museum of Flight, Boeing Field, Seattle, WA
I hope you enjoyed the side trip to McMinnville, Or, and the Evergreen Aviation Museum housing the Howard Hughes Flying Boat. Experiencing the “one and only example” of any item is always a rewarding experience. So how about seeing one of only two in all of the United States?
Let’s visit another aviation museum for that experience. Located between Tacoma and downtown Seattle, WA, at Boeing Field, is the Boeing Museum of Flight. It’s an absolutely spectacular collection of near current and vintage aircraft housed in a museum built just to display it.
One of the displays that draws many off of Interstate 5 is the British/French Concorde Supersonic Airliner that was retired from service several years ago. There are four examples of this unique airplane outside of Europe; one is found at the Smithsonian Institution’s Air and Space Museum Annex in Virginia and the other is right here at Boeing Field. A total of 20 Concordes were built.
While the “Spruce Goose” is housed inside a structure built for that purpose, the Concorde and other large aircraft are found out of doors.
You enter the surprisingly narrow cabin of the Concorde through the rear cabin door and progress up the aisle towards the cockpit. Since the cost of a seat for a transatlantic flight on this speedy bird cost more than $10,000, one might expect a bit of luxury in the accommodations. If anything, the exact opposite is true. The seats appear to be as narrow as those found on some of the budget airliners of today and their plain black leather upholstery seemed stark and unappealing. The narrow cabin of the aircraft accommodates two seats on either side of the center aisle. Coupled with the tiny windows the feeling I got was rather cramped and claustrophobic. I guess a passenger weighed the discomfort against the speed and decided it was worth it. A flight from London to New York, took less than 5 hours. Because that center aisle is constantly filled with other people touring the plane, taking a photograph is impossible.
Though the cockpit door has been removed, a plexi-glass panel prevents entry to it. The vast array of instruments, meters, dials, and levers one can see, however, is mind-boggling. After years of successful service, the Concorde was briefly removed from service following the tragic loss of one such plane and all the passengers aboard in France. The planes again resumed flying for a few years after a thorough investigation of the crash proved it to be an almost freak experience.
Next to the Concorde is the first jet-powered Air Force One—a Boeing 707, used by President’s Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon. It is officially known as Special Air Missions 970 (its tail number is 86970) or Air Force One when the President is actually aboard. It replaced Eisenhower’s Super Constellation in 1959. It remained in the Presidential Fleet until 1996.
This plane is also open for viewing and affords a rare view into an environment that is usually reserved for a very select few individuals.
Mrs. Carter was the moving force behind changing the paint job on Air Force One. Notice the blue color does not cover the top of the plane at the cockpit as all other examples of this plane do. Mrs. Carter felt it was too flamboyant and showy and so it was changed.
As in the Concorde, visitors enter through the rear cabin door and proceed forward. Having just toured the Concorde I couldn’t escape the feeling that this was a much larger airplane. The feeling of spaciousness was a wonderful change from the cramped interior of the supersonic jet. Though the Boeing 707 is not a wide-bodied airplane, the interior of Air Force One feels almost as though it is because it is configured for so few people. In the interior photograph, note how the thickness of the walls and ceiling change as one enters the presidential area of the plane. The change is due to the amount of shielding and bulletproofing materials contained in them. Those with less stature—perhaps the news reporters--were not afforded such protection. This is the real deal, not a movie set. This is where those powerful people sat and made decisions that impacted our lives and those of millions of others around the world. This is just like standing in the actual oval office in the White House and the sense of history it imparts is thrilling and chilling at the same time.
A poster near the plane reads, “Visit Air Force One and ask questions like…
Was the “Watch your step” sign put up specifically for President Ford?
Is “50 Years of Cabin Pressure” a word play or a pun?
Can the President veto the “No Smoking” sign and can a 2/3 majority in Congress put it back?
Note that the graphic of the plane on this poster shows the classic paint scheme. In all of the blue and white airplanes with the words United States of America above the windows, only the presidential planes carry the blue paint over the cockpit.
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A Presidential Aircraft Aside...Other examples you can see and tour.
(The piston-powered Douglas DC-6 (Military designation C-118) used by both John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson can be seen and toured at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona. This is the aircraft aboard which Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as president in Dallas, Texas, immediately following the Kennedy assasination. Also on display here is the Lockheed Constellation used as the presidential airplane by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. It was known as Columbine and was never referred to as Air Force One.)
At the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, SAM 27000 (tail number) is displayed in a building resembling a hanger. You may have seen it at various presidential election debates. It stands atop pedestals 25' off the floor of the building. Also displayed is a Marine One helicopter used by President Lyndon Johnson.
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A flying automobile sits to the side with one wing assembled for flight and the other folded for land travel.
In this part of the museum you can visit the non-operational control tower and watch and listen to planes arriving and leaving Boeing Field. You can also try your hand at flying a real flight simulator. Good luck.
The second building holds what is the most moving and meaningful series of displays in the collection: The Personal Courage Wing. Here are beautifully restored WWI and WWII fighter aircraft, some on their wheels on the floor and others soar, suspended from the ceiling. These are not mere display pieces, however, as each is part of a diorama depicting not
only the thrilling fear of dogfights but the life of the pilots, the mechanics, and the mission planners on the ground. Their story is told through
speakers hidden throughout the displays. You’ll feel a part of the action in the dioramas and displays. There are observation balloons, French and German airfields, a pilots’ lounge, a French farmhouse, a battlefield trench, a Quonset hut and an aircraft carrier flight deck for you to experience.
We enjoy aviation museums since many of the dramatic advances have occurred during our lifetime. The Boeing Museum of Flight is one that deserves a visit as you drive north on I-5.
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