MUKILTEO — The Institute of Flight is trying to make a record-breaking birthday card for the Boeing Co., which turned 100 earlier this year.
Thousands of people already have signed three giant paper scrolls at Future of Flight Aviation Center &Boeing Tour, which the institute manages at Paine Field. But thousands more signatures are needed.
The scrolls are about three feet tall and 1,000 feet long. That is enough space to hold the more than 71,542 signatures needed to set a new world record for most contributions to a greetings scroll, a record maintained by Guinness World Records. The current record was set in 2012 in Mexico City with a scroll containing well wishes for the New Year.
The institute started collecting signatures in July and is making a final push through the end of the year, said Pamela Drake, who is managing the effort.
“We are close to making it,” but more signatures are needed, she said.
The scrolls are in the Future of Flight Aviation Center’s gallery, which means you need to pay admission to sign the scroll in person. The center is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. seven days a week.
People also can sign electronically via the institute’s website at www.futureofflight.org/guinness-world-records. Click on the link “Virtually sign the card” to open the entry form. Generally speaking, each electronic entry has to come from a unique email address. However, immediate family members may use the same email address if necessary, Drake said.
The online submissions are then transferred — by hand — onto the scroll by Drake and other institute employees. The institute also needs volunteers when the center is open to witness and tally in-person signatures. People interested in volunteering can contact the Institute of Flight by email at info@futureofflight.org or by phone at 888-467-4777.
The nonprofit group began in 2005 as the Future of Flight Foundation, and changed to its current name in late 2015.
It is in the early part of an ambitious plan — estimated to cost as much as $20 million — to add meeting rooms, improve exhibits and offer new educational programs at the Future of Flight Aviation Center, which it operates for Snohomish County. The institute coordinates the Boeing Tour with Boeing.
Dan Catchpole: 425-339-3454; dcatchpole@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @dcatchpole.
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