THE MUSEUM OF FLIGHT
While I’m no aeronautical aficionado or closet fly-boy, I spent a thrilling afternoon at The Museum of Flight with my lovely daughter, Bella. We began the day by checking out the Airpark across the street, where a number of famous aircraft were made available for tours, including the first Air Force One (President Eisenhower’s Boeing VC-137B), a supersonic Concorde, and several other important prototypes. We then went back to the main building to the Elroy McCaw Personal Courage Wing (an 88,000 square foot space), which houses 28 World War I and World War II fighter aircraft. But nothing prepared us for the spectacle of the T.A. Wilson Great Gallery on the ground floor, a three million-cubic-foot, six-story glass-and-steel exhibition hall displaying 41 historic aircraft. 22 of the planes (including the 9 ton Douglas DC-3) hang precipitously from the ceiling. The William E. Boeing Red Barn was the only section that bored my little girl (alas, there were no more cockpit photo ops), but it’s surely a treat for fanboys and those interested in the genesis of the company and its impressive string of technological advancements.
