Boeing tour

Yesterday we did a 1.5 hour tour of the Boeing plant in Everett Washington. Cameras, cell phones, knives and weapons, or any electronic devices were not allowed on the tour. The same entry requirements are in place at most of the facilities in Oak Ridge where I worked for 40 years. We felt right at home and that is why there are no photos in this post.

Boeing has manufacturing facilities in many locations with the original being south of Seattle. When Boeing was awarded a contract by Pam American Airlines in 1966 to build 25 747's they needed more space; they only build planes that have already been sold. The facilities south of Seattle, near the Sea-Tac airport, had run out of space so they purchased 780 acres near Paine Field in Everett. Boeing extended the old Army Airfield runway and butilt what is today the largest building by volume in the world. On the tour we were told there are 39 miles of overhead crane transport rails in the building. At two different locations we were walked down into tunnels under the building that serve as pipe and cable chases. They saved us a mile of walking by busing us from one tunnel to the other. You could look down the tunnel from one end to the other and it reminded me of the old K-25 building at Oak Ridge. That building was the largest in the world when it was constructed in 1944. There were elevators in the tunnels that transported us up to the 4th level where we could overlook the manufacturing floor below. The tours were not allowed in areas were construction was in progress due to security concerns but we were allowed to see planes in different stages of construction. The tour guide explained how the large pieces were moved around and showed us the areas were assembly took place.

Boeing does not make engines and after a plane is assembled it is rolled out one of the large doors, around the building , and into another large door where the engines are installed. After the plane is completed it must be tugged across the expressway to the large paint shops at the end of Paine Field. That is the only highway bridge in the state of Washington that is privately owned. All the railings are removed from the bridge before the plane is pulled across. The wings and engines hang out over the freeway as the plane crosses. Boeing now only moves the planes across at 2 am because cars were stopping to take photos. On this side of the expressway the planes complete testing and are delivered to the customer. The customer must come to Paine Field and fly the plane out.

The bridge the planes are rolled across
https://tinyurl.com/ya45e5lo


Wings for some of the planes are built at other locations and flown to Everett in special built 747 cargo planes referred to as the Dreamlifter. We saw one of these near the Future of Flight building.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_Dreamlifter

We also saw the new Pegasus KC-46 Air Force in flight refueling tanker that replaces the old KC-135. This plane is said to be able to operate in medium combat conditions and the electronics is hardened to withstand the Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) from a nuclear blast.
https://www.boeing.com/defense/kc-46a-pegasus-tanker/