The Boeing Future of Flight Factory Tour is 43 miles from the SEA-TAC airport. I looked forward to…read morethis factory tour for years!!!
Short version: So disappointed.
Long version: The tour starts in a modest theater where you watch a 10-min video how William Boeing started out. This part was 5-stars!
Next, you board a gorgeous luxury-style bus for a 5-min ride over to Hanger 5. The host speaks briefly about Boeing facts. The bus was also 5-stars!
Exit the bus, down a flight of stairs to a freight elevator, then to a 3rd floor landing that overlooks the Hanger 5 assembly area.
Here the host talks about the different areas of the hanger where you can see 5 planes in different states of assembly.
Also, you see a variety of parked carts that support the fuselage as well as miscellaneous bins, mechanical braces, and worker pathways.
Why the tour was so disappointing was because there was absolutely nothing going on. No action, no assembly. No fuselage being lowered in to place, no wings being attached, no components being shuffled around, nothing.
I saw about 8-10 Boeing factory staff walking around. When asked, "Where are all the workers?" I was told they are all inside the fuselage of the plane. Hmmm. My tour was at 10am on a weekday.
I really hoped this was not all of the tour. I anticipated we could at least walk the factory floor behind a secured fence of some sort to get a sense of scale of the planes close up.
NOPE. No factory floor walk. After about 10-15 minutes, back in the freight elevator, up the stairs, in to the 5-star bus and thank you for coming.
A History or Discovery Channel documentary on Boeing would provide you a more rewarding experience.
What was insult to injury was the lack of accurate information from the hosts. When asked why planes don't fly faster compared to earlier jets, the response was, "the human body can't take the additional forces to fly faster". Interesting, but WHAT??!!. Through my own research the 777 (being built in Hanger 5) flies at 560 mph for optimal fuel efficiency, has a top speed of 682 mph, and can withstand 700 mph with a tailwind. Back in the 1970s, the Concord flew at Mach 2 or 1,350 mph and bodies did not explode...not...even...one. Hmmm, and this tour is called the "Future" of Flight.
Boeing, please have your tour hosts provide legitimate information and a "factory" tour would terrific too!
Total score for the Boeing Future of Flight Factory Tour: 2 Stars.
(Photo below from a Google search, very accurate)
P.S. Boeing has another attraction that may be more rewarding, the Boeing Museum of Flight in Tukwila, WA. Like the Boeing Future of Flight Factory Tour, nothing here is moving either but their many planes parked and suspended from the ceiling, and there is much to view and experience. Also, because it is near the SEA-TAC airport, you can watch planes take off and land from the roof of the Boeing Museum of Flight. I wish I went here instead.