You should visit Paine Field’s aviation centers, here’s how
Published 1:18 pm Friday, December 18, 2015
Paine Field isn’t a town, but since it’s one of the most popular tourist attractions in Snohomish County it works well as the finale of our two-year series about being a tourist in your own back yard.
What’s funny is that the volunteer docents at the Future of Flight, the Flying Heritage Collection, the Historic Flight Foundation and the Museum of Flight Restoration Center all agree that they’ve met more people from out of state and out of country than local folks.
With winter upon us, take a day, go inside these museums and take a look around.
Paine Field’s not just for retired Boeing engineers and aviation geeks.
STEM students, people of the Greatest Generation, history buffs and even artists can dig it, too.
So, where to begin? Here’s our suggestion: Go from the past to the future. Start with the Restoration Center, head over to Flying Heritage, then on to Historic Flight and finish up with the Future of Flight Aviation Center.
Can Paine Field be done in a day? We think so, though making a schedule is a good idea, especially if you plan to stop in the gift shops. Go to www.painefield.com to design a schedule.
The 20th annual Paine Field Aviation Day is May 16, which is free for ages 17 and younger.
Paine Field history
Snohomish County’s airport was built during the Great Depression as a Works Progress Administration project. At the time, people believed it eventually would become one the country’s largest commercial airports.
That didn’t happen of course. During World War II, the Army Air Corps moved in and made a few improvements. During the Korean conflict, an Air Force defense unit was stationed at Paine Field and had a presence there until the mid-1960s when the Boeing Company needed a place to build its 747.
Along with Boeing, Paine Field is now home to more than 50 businesses that employ more than 30,000 people.
By the way, Paine Field is named for a World War I Army Air Corps pilot who graduated from Everett High School in 1911. Before his death in 1922, Topliff Paine was considered one of the top fliers for the Western Division of the Air Mail Service.
The history of Paine Field is captured in a painting — by Everett’s late, award-winning commercial and fine artist Bernie Webber — titled “The Airport of Choice.” Prints are available (prices range from $20 to $75) through the Paine Field Airport administration office at 425-388-5102.
Restoration Center
Perhaps the coolest project ongoing at the Museum of Flight Restoration Center is a rare de Havilland DH.106 4C Comet.
The de Havilland has been undergoing restoration since 1996, and staff member Barry Horner estimates the plane is about 70 percent done. Once belonging to Mexicana Airlines, the airliner was abandoned at Paine Field about 40 years ago. The front half of the de Havilland is in the center’s building and the back sits outside. Visitors can climb up a staircase and have a peek. Actually, it’s pretty easy to get close to most of the planes, gliders and other aircraft being repaired at the 23,000-square-foot facility.
Most of the people working on the planes there are volunteers, Horner said, and many of those are retired from Boeing. A good time to visit is during the morning hours when more volunteers are around and willing to answer questions.
During the winter months, the center is open for visitors from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. Cost is $5 for adults and $3 for students younger than 17. The center is located at 2909 100th St. SW.
Flying Heritage
Paul Allen’s Flying Heritage Collection offers an amazing presentation, primarily of the warbirds of World War II. Half of the beauty of the exhibit is the airy refurbished main hangar where the collection is stored and the historical exhibits that accompany each aircraft.
Volunteer docents Alan Gale, Henry Schilling and Jack Grouell say they like to “hang around old airplanes and meet people from around the world.”
“When people walk into this old hangar for the first time, most just say, ‘Wow,’ ” Grouell said.
The mid-1930s through the ’40s marked a time when aeronautic technology was exploding against the backdrop of global war, and it’s all explained in great detail. War is not glorified, but history is not ignored.
Be sure to check out the North American B-25J Mitchell and the Curtiss P-40C Tomahawk.
Most of the planes fly, having been restored to their original wartime condition. On scheduled free Fly Days (primarily in the summer) one can see the vintage planes take to the skies. In addition, the collection offers an educational lecture series throughout the year.
In the Flying Heritage Collection’s second hangar, I was especially interested in the UH-1B Iroquois, a Huey helicopter, painted to represent one flown in Vietnam by A Troop, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. During my high school years, I remember frequently watching Hueys in action on Walter Cronkite’s CBS newscast.
Winter hours at Flying Heritage are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays at 3407 109th St. SW. General admission is $14, seniors and military get in for $12 and students younger than 18 pay $10.
Historic Flight
The Historic Flight Foundation offers a collection of aircraft produced from 1927 to 1957, as well as a few vehicles from the same time period. Foundation Chairman John Sessions is often on hand to greet tourists.
Swing music plays in the background, visitors can walk right up to the shiny planes and kids can touch various aircraft parts held up by docents who offer fun historical information. While not as big as the Flying Heritage, Historic Flight also offers plenty of events, including flying days and educational activities.
Be sure to see the P-51B Mustang and get a docent to tell you the story of how it crashed in 1944 and was dug up in 2002.
Historic Flight is located at 10719 Bernie Webber Drive. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. General admission is $15; seniors and military are $12, ages 11 to 17 are $10 and children are free.
Future of Flight
The big daddy of the tourist attractions at Paine Field is the Future of Flight Aviation Center and the Boeing Tour.
The Future of Flight, which celebrated its 10th anniversary Thursday, offers a plethora of hands-on exhibits, especially for kids. Try out a flight simulator, make a 3-D project, get up close to airplane parts such as the 787 fuselage, a jet engine and view exhibits on biofuel and aircraft materials. Be sure to watch the video of the first flight in December 2009 of the 787 Dreamliner.
Go up to the center’s roof, with its fabulous view of the Paine Field runway. You might see a new jet take off. Shop the Boeing store and the Future of Flight gift shop. Eat lunch in the cafe and hang around the lobby where people from around the world are passing through.
In the lobby of the Boeing factory tour, located between the shops, is a fascinating display case exhibit of models of nearly all of Boeing’s airplanes from 1916 to 1969. The 90-minute tour departs on the hour (except noon) from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. General admission during the winter, which includes the Future of Flight gallery exhibits, is $16 (if you make a reservation) or $10 for ages 5 to 16. To make a reservation, call 800-464-1476 or go to tickets.futureofflight.org.
To see the gallery only, pay $10 general or $5 youth. Located at 8415 Paine Field Blvd., the center is open 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily except Christmas, New Year’s Day and Thanksgiving.
Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @galefiege.
Tourist in your own town
In each of our towns and cities, we have tourist attractions often overlooked by the people who live here. Have you been a Tourist in Your Own Town? This is the 24th and final installment in a series of monthly explorations of our hometowns. For previous stories, go to cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/heraldnet/tourist. Look for a Best of Tourist story in January.
