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<< Previous   of   Next >> Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald  (click to enlarge) People take photos of the big screen at Qwest Field in Seattle as the Boeing 787 rolls out. The event in Everett was simulcast to 8,500 people on hand at the stadium.  Photo Gallery: Boeing 787 Dreamliner Rollout   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • Dreamliner Debut - Audio slideshow 7/9/07   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Monday, July 9, 2007 8,500 party in Seattle By Kaitlin Manry, Herald Writer SEATTLE - John Zachary, 85, came to see the next generation of airplanes. During his 30-year career as a Boeing aerodynamicist, he helped design the planes of his time. Now, he wanted to see the future. Helen Chao came to be part of a "once in a lifetime" event. The Boeing attorney wanted to experience history as it happened. Six-year-old Anecyia Shields came because her grandma asked her to. She passed on a birthday party in order to see a new plane. Like the 8,500 others who flocked to Qwest Field on Sunday, they came for the party, they came for the history, and, most of all, they came for the 787 Dreamliner. Though the real Dreamliner debut was in Everett, Boeing offered current and former employees without invitations to the main event two tickets to Qwest Field to watch live footage of the Everett event. Around 23,000 people reserved seats, but fewer than half actually showed up, said company spokeswoman Kevan Goff-Parker. The ones who did appear sat in the stands at Qwest Field and watched the ceremony on the stadium's two giant video screens. There were a few technological glitches. The audio of the Everett event was spotty and didn't always match perfectly with the video. Nonetheless, the atmosphere at Qwest Field remained festive as spectators anxiously awaited video of Boeing's newest airplane. Giant, inflatable Dreamliner balls bounced through the crowd. Cameras flashed. Spectators donned 787 hats and T-shirts. "It's huge," said Chao, who arrived early and bought model Dreamliners from a souvenir stand. "The 787 is huge, both opportunity-wise and business-wise. It's a big quantum leap forward in innovation." Her 12-year-old son Alex Atwood added, "It's cool, 'cause I'll never be able to do this again." Boeing executives and Gov. Chris Gregoire lauded both the Dreamliner and its employees in speeches from the stadium's field. "The 787 Dreamliner really is a new airliner for a new world," said Frank Shrontz, retired Boeing chairman and chief executive. Volunteers handed out complimentary "Dreamliner" popcorn, bottled water and 787 foam gliders. When the glare from midday sun interfered with views, some innovative engineers in the crowd transformed their foam planes into sun-blocking visors in order to see the screens. "We came to be part of it; we didn't come for the popcorn," said Jane Commet, 76, of Seattle. At 3:35 p.m., live footage of the Dreamliner's Everett event aired on the stadium's large video screens. "It's kind of like the anticipation waiting for the birth of a child," said Ilona Melnyk, 61, as she waited in the bleachers to see the blue-and-white Dreamliner on the big screen. She roared along with the rest of the crowd when the 787 finally flashed onscreen at 4:25 p.m. Boeing's newest airplane inspired the young to dream of the future, and the old to reflect on the past. "It brought back a lot of memories," Zachary said after seeing the 787 for the first time. He remembers previous Boeing debuts and said the Dreamliner is "bigger than anything that happened in the past." "That's quite an airplane," he said. "That's going to be something. Every airplane that's come out has been one step forward and this is no exception. It's going on to great things." Reporter Kaitlin Manry: 425-339-3292 or kmanry@heraldnet.com.

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