JDiver

Boeing and flight are celebrated in the Seattle area. There are two main areas of interest. The first is:

1) The west side of BFI / KBFI - Boeing Field (officially King County International Airport)[/B] (the Boeing final preparation facility for the 737 NG and 737 MAX - is also located here). (Note: the actual 737 manufacturing plant is at RNT / KRNT Renton Municipal Field and is not open to the public.)

Claimed to be world’s largest private non-profit air and space museum. It is located at the southwest side of King County International Airport, in the city of Tukwila, south of Seattle and north of SEA / Seattle - Tacoma International Airport. This is an awesome museum. If you’re at all an avgeek, plan a minimum of four hours here.

Across the street is the open air but covered Aviation Pavilion with 19 rare and unique commercial (Concorde, various Boeung jetliner prototypes) and military (B-17 and B-29) airplanes. The 3-acre display focuses on the dramatic development of large aircraft and commercial airliners from the 1930s to the present. The Pavilion spans the gap between the Raisbeck Aviation High School STEM school and the newly built Space Gallery.

The Museum of Flight
9404 E. Marginal Way
Seattle, WA 98108
Web: http://www.museumofflight.org
email [email protected]

Open daily from 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas)
The first Thursday of each month, the Museum is open from 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM with FREE ADMISSION!

Admission (savings online)
Walkup Age 5-17 $15 ($14)
Walkup Adult >17 $24 ($22)
Walkup Senior 65+ $20 ($19)

Getting there

Public transport: From downtown Seattle, take METRO Bus #124 from Downtown Seattle and get off at the stop directly in front of the Museum of Flight.

From SEA, Link Train northbound to Tukwila International Blvd. station, walk to Tukwila International Blvd. station Bay 3 and take METRO Bus #124 toward Seattle / Georgetown to the stop directly in front of the Museum of Flight. 26 - 30 minutes.

By car: Take Interstate 5 to Exit 158; turn right on East Marginal Way and enter the Museum lot a half mile down the road, on your right. 8.5 miles, 15 minutes from SEA.

Livery: Uber or Lyft, $8-21; taxi ~$15-20.

Walk: impractical, two hours.

Nearest hotel (2 miles):
Aero Motel
7240 E Marginal Way S
Seattle, WA 98108

Aircraft on display in the museum or adjacent Aviation Pavilion include (some interiors are open to visitors)

Aérospatiale / BAC Concorde 224 G-BOAG
B-17F and B-29 bombers
Boeing 247D
Boeing 727, 737, 747, 787 prototypes
Boeing B-47 six jet bomber
Boeing VC-137B SAM 970 (first Presidential jet transport
Douglas DC-2
Lockheed Electra 10-E
Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellation
Lockheed M-21 and D21 drone (A-12 variant)
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird
MacCready Gossamer Albatross II (human powered aircraft)
and many others

Attached to and part of the museum is The William E. Boeing Red Barn, the original Boeing design loft and manufacturing facility, relocated from its original space 3 miles away and fully refurbished. Vintage aircraft, interactive displays, the loft.

There is a model control tower at the Museum with headsets to listen in on local air traffic. There is a plethora of programs and special events, a cafeteria, extensive aviation oriented gift shop and plenty of things to do for young visitors.

Photos:
Museum of Flight interior (Wikimedia Commons)
Museum of Flight Airpark, now covered zpavilion (Long Bach Nguyen)

JDiver

Boeing and flight are celebrated in the Seattle area. There are two main areas of interest. The second is:

2) PAE / KPAE Boeing / Paine Field in Everett, north of Seattle

Future of Flight Aviation Center & Boeing Tour (& gift shop)
8415 Paine Field Blvd, Mukilteo, WA 98275
(Northwest corner of Paine Field)
https://www.futureofflight.org

Aviation Center Hours:
Daily • 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Amenities:
Parking lot with electric ChargePoint
Paper Plane Café
Boeing Store (and Boeing Store Online)
Strato Deck rooftop photography deck
Free lockers for vlauables while touring Boeing assembly facility
Grass berms on north of Museum allow over the fence photography

Getting there: own or rental car is best due to limited public transport from Seattle or Mukilteo, particularly if you want to tour all three sites in the vicinity.

Public transport: 2 hours from SEA international airport. Bus ST Express 560 to Kennydale Freeway Station, short walk to I-405 and NE 30th Street stop to bus 952. Exit bus at Boeing Access Road, Gate E72. Walk 0.8 miles / 1.3 km e to w north side of Paine Field. Not recommended.

Guided van tours for Future of Flight and Boeing Tour available from Seattle addresses including hotels here
Cost: $94 per adult, $84 children (must be over 48” / 122 cm tall). Or, call 1.888.293.1404 to order

Alaska, Southwest and United plan to fly to PAE sometime in 2019. Link

Boeing Tour Hours (all tours begin at Future of Flight):
Daily • 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Boeing Factory tour departs by bus from the Future of Flight Aviation Center’s Tour Center. You will attend an orientation first, go by bus to the nearby factory and return to the Center. Plan 90-120 minutes on tour. Not architecturally accessible. Tickets have high demand; you should purchase your tickets online in advance to assure you’ll be able to tour.

Quote:

Restrictions include no babies or small children (must be over 48” / 122 cm, and all under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.

Still photos and video cameras, electronic devices (mobile phones, cameras, pagers) and personal items (purses, bags, backpacks) are not permitted on the Boeing Tour. Free lockers are available at the Aviation Center. See the full list here.

The Museum of Flight Restoration Center & Reserve Collection
2909 100th St. SW
Everett, WA 98204
425.745.5150
Web: Aircraft Restoration | Museum of Flight

This is the restoration facility of the Seattle Museum of Flight, including de Havilland D.H. 106 Comet Mk. 4C XA-NAS (in its Mexicana “Azteca de Oro” scheme). Volunteers are often willing to chat.

1-2 hours for most, can be longer for av geeks


Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum (a fine WW II aircraft and vehicle museum)
3407 109th Street SW
Everett, WA 98204
FHCAM Office: (206) 342-4242
Web: https://flyingheritage.org

Museum Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 10am-5pm, Closed on Mondays
Memorial Day to Labor Day Hours: Monday-Sunday 10am-5pm
Closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Admission (buy on arrival at ticket desk)
Adults: $16
Seniors (65+): $14
Military: $14
Youth (6-17): $12; Children (5 and under) free

This is Paul Allen’s private collection of WORKING 26 rare warbirds and 25 combat vehicles dating back to 1935.

An hour is okay for some, av or WW II geeks can spend 2-4 hours

Photos:

Future of Flight (BRC Acoustics & Auduiovisual Design)
Boeing 777 etc. 787 Assembly Building (Modern Airliners)
Museum of Flight Restoration Center Comet IV-C (Airline Reporter)
Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum (Evergreen Refrugeration & HVAC)
Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum (REBRN)

JDiver

The way I’ve done it is to arrive at SEA, pick up a rental car and drive to

overnight at the Museum of Flight in Tukwila, visit, gran something to eat at some point and drive to Mukilteo before the busy Seattle rush hour, check into my hotel and go to the area by the Tukwila ferry dock for dinner. For me the most convenient lodging is

Hilton Garden Inn Seattle North / Everett (next to Future of Flight center)
8401 Paine Field Blvd, Mukilteo, Washington, 98275, USA
TEL: +1-425-423-9000 FAX: +1-425-423-9005

Then take the earliest Boeing Factory tour, which departs from the Future of Flight tour center (I leave my car in the HGI parking lot). Yep, buy your tickets online from the linked page in the post above.

Then I drive past the assembly buildings north of Paine Field, to catch early lunch (closes ar 3:00 pm)

Happy Tummy Grill
2615 Casino Road #1g , Everett, WA 98204

drive to the (Seattle) Museum of Flight's Restoration Center & Reserve Collection and end my self-tour by stopping at the Flying Heritage Collection. I can then drive on, or to SEA (trying to avoid Seattle rush hour).

It’s also feasible to do the east side (Restoration Center and Aviation Heritage Collection after noon, doing the assembly facility tour next morning if you want to do this in reverse and start at Paine Field. The best way is to rent a car if you’re coming from SEA. Good seafood and beer near the ferry landing in Tukwila. If you have more than just aviation interest you can drive to Vashon Island,

IvanCU

Also... less than an hour north of Mukilteo is this place:

www.heritageflight.org

Hoyaheel

Sorry to bump an old thread, but GREAT information. We didn't make it to the Museum of Flight on our last trip to Seattle. I have a conference in Bellevue soon, husband is coming with me. Is it still feasible to take Lyft/Uber from Bellevue, vs Seattle? The public transport options seem impractical, and we really don't want to rent a car (unless hubs changes his mind about what he wants to do while I'm conferencing).

EkekoBWI

Public transpo would be ~ 1 hour. Cheap and generally reliable during daylight. Not sure if a rental car it economical, but the good news is Museum of Flight has free parking and lots of it. (Make sure you get a toll pass.) Lyft/Uber is certainly possible, but will be $$$$, and you'd need to time it around rush hour.

Avoid Free Thursdays--way too crowded.

Hoyaheel

We are not renting and public transport still looks complicated as heck, so we're planning on Lyft. The only day we have is Sunday, which might be crowded/full of kids, c'est la vie.

Gardyloo

Check to make sure your visit doesn't coincide with entry/exit times for a Mariners game if one is scheduled for that Sunday. Sundays are all day games (12:30 - 1 PM start) and might lead to surge pricing for that part of town. (Bellevue to the MoF will take you right past the ballpark.)

Hoyaheel

Thank you for this advice - I would never have thought of this. They do have a home game when we would be there.

EkekoBWI

In a pinch, Annex across the street (admission covers both) is always less crowded.