Pages

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

A New Baby

Well, almost new.

We are getting the paint and interior done on my baby over the next several weeks. With any luck (parts arriving from Belgium some time today), we will be heading towards the paint shop in New England early tomorrow morning. I just received this final rendering of what the new plane will look like on the outside. We are even switching the tail number to match the serial number of the airplane!

What do you think of my "new" baby?

Monday, November 15, 2010

Things With Wings


The FBO we utilize at Boeing Field provides us free passes to the Boeing Museum of Flight. However, it was going to be a rushed first experience since we only had Friday morning to do it. When Terry discovered that it was free to the public and open until 9:00 PM the first Thursday of every month, we jumped in the car and spent five hours looking at a lot of neat, original airplanes late into the night. We even sweet-talked a Docent, or museum tour guide, into walking us around and talking, though he kept insisting that tours are not offered on free nights. All you have to do is say you are a pilot and start asking questions and they take over from there. Finally, someone who likes airplanes as much as me! Our Docent was a retired Air Force Colonel and even flew several battle missions into Korea and Vietnam. I felt like I was in the presence of greatness, and he certainly knew a thing or two about the airplanes in the museum. He was only able to walk us through the World War I exhibit, but I learned so much in the hour we followed him around like lost puppies. We are so blessed to live in a free country made possible by great men like him.

This was my first visit to the Boeing Museum of Flight, though I have dreamed of going for years. The exhibits were so nice and informative. And lots of airplanes were present! An original airplane costs around $1.5 million, and upwards of $5 million if it's restored. The bigger airplanes cost way more than that. We saw hundreds of every kind and loved every second! The only downside: because it was free night, there were tons of screaming kids every where. I was screaming and running around inside my head but managed to keep a calm, excited look on the outside. I would time it differently next time to avoid the crowds. Despite the thirty-million visitors to the museum that evening, I still managed to see some incredible flying machines. I now plan to visit every time we go to Seattle! I am sure I will never get bored in a building full of airplanes.