THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2014:
All of the images below are thumbnails and can be clicked on for a larger image.
I spent Thursday morning at the Museum of Flight.
Established in 1965 the Museum of Flight is located at the southern end of
King County International Airport (Boeing Field) just south of Seattle.
It is the largest private air and space museum in the world.
British and French aerospace companies collaborated to design and build 20 Concorde aircraft
between 1966 and 1979. Flying with Air France and British Airways, the supersonic jets
offered a luxurious and speedy trip across the Atlantic for 27 years. Capable of speeds
over two times the speed of sound and at elevations up to 60,000 feet, the Concorde could fly
from London to New York and return in the time it took a conventional aircraft to go one way.
The first presidential jet plane, a specially built Boeing 707-120,
is known as SAM (Special Air Missions) 970. This aircraft, as well as any other
Air Force aircraft, carried the call sign "Air Force One" when the president was aboard.
Delivered in 1959 to replace Eisenhower's Super-Constellation, the high-speed jet transport
is a flying Oval Office with a modified interior and sophisticated communication equipment.
By 1962, SAM 970 was replaced but remained in the presidential fleet
ferrying VIPs and the Vice-President until June of 1996.
Other historic aircraft on display at the Airpark include -
An American Airlines 727. Over 1,800 of the versatile and economic "trijets" were
built between the early 1960s and 1984, and they were used by hundreds of airlines.
The first 747 ever built - serial number 001. It first flew on February 9, 1969.
The "Super G" was the most successful version of the Lockheed Super Constellations
and one of the last great piston-engine airliners. Soon after the plane's introduction,
it became clear that airlines would invest in jet aircraft.
In the afternoon I drove 88 miles to Chehalis from Seattle.
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Howdy, Howdy, It was another gloomy day in Seattle. I spent the first several hours of my day in a museum. Before you all gasp in astonishment, it was an airplane museum. I visited the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field in Seattle. In the picture below you can see a couple military aircraft in front of the building. Fittingly a British Airways 747 was flying overhead as I entered.  Boeing's old Red Barn is part of the museum.  The museum is full of military aircraft and a section on space flight. But the area that most interested me was commercial aviation. Below is a concorde.  I got to walk through this retired aircraft from British Airways. Below is the passenger cabin.  Next I walked through SAM970. This was the first jet Air Force One. It was used by Eisenhower and Kennedy. It became Vice President Johnson's Air Force Two when Kennedy got a new airplane.  Below is the president's conference room.  And below is the cockpit.  Pictured below is the first 737 ever built. The 737 is the most popular aircraft ever built with over 5000 planes built and they are still being produced.  The picture below is a blast from the past. An American Airlines 727. I flew on quite a few of those back in the day.  Below is the first 747 ever built. No longer the largest commercial aircraft flying since the A380 came along. But still the most attractive. Maybe not this one though, it looks quite beat up.  All the above aircraft where outside. They had many exhibits inside as well. This Alaska Airlines DC-3 was hanging from the ceiling.  I could show you the pictures of a lot more aircraft, but I am sure you're bored enough already. I had lunch at the Wings Cafe while I was there. After I finished with the museum I drove back to downtown Seattle. I was going to visit the observation deck at Columbia Center (the tallest building in Seattle). But I was having a hard time finding a place to park and it also started to rain so I gave up on that idea. I had a seaplane flight scheduled for 4:30 but that was canceled as well. So I just decided to get out of Dodge. The traffic in this city is a nightmare. I was going to spend two nights in Seattle. But I decided last night to only spend one to save the cost of the expensive downtown hotel for a second night. I drove 85 miles south to the small town of Chehalis and checked into my usual Holiday Inn Express. Only one third the cost of last nights hotel.  This also puts me in good position to explore Mt. Rainier tomorrow. The weather is supposed to clear sometime during the day tomorrow. I hope it clears early enough for me to see Mt. Rainier. I was going to see it on my way to Seattle yesterday, but the weather prevented that from happening. I will try again tomorrow. Everyone pray for my sunny skies to return and I will write again tomorrow. Tim |
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