
• Nick Anderson (4th time), who joined United flight operations shortly after the event
• Kyle Bjorklund (4), a dispatcher for Kalitta Air Charter
• Brandon Jones (2), who is now an A320 first officer for United, while also still flying KC-135s for the Air National Guard
• Oren Katzen (1), an engineer at Boeing
• David Malinowski (1), at Bank of America
• Aaron Robinson (5), environmental strategy at United
• Matt Schweizer (1), a dispatcher at Northern Air Cargo, and moving to ATC training soon
• Stephen Wismark (4), a tour bus driver at Red Arrow Motor Coaches
Continuing our tradition of having first-timers report, this year’s event is described by David and Matt. While also a first-timer, Oren was excused due to helping plan local arrangements. In addition, you can also see a photo gallery from the event here.
DM: Nick, Steve, Kyle and I met for drinks Friday night at the hotel bar in SeaTac (an actual city now). Once Aaron arrived, the group migrated to dinner at Sharp’s Roasthouse and then returned to the hotel to welcome Brandon from a late arrival.
Saturday began with the group enjoying an exclusive floor tour (public tours are high up on catwalks) of the assembly line at the Boeing Widebody Factory at Paine Field (PAE), located in Everett, Washington. The group was led by Boeing’s Sean Newsum, Ellie Wood, and our very own resident Boeing engineer, Oren Katzen. From the factory floor, we were able to witness assembly lines of varying speeds, from the relatively slow 747-8 freighters on the western end of the building all the way through the 787 line, which pumps out one aircraft every five days. I, along with Steve and Aaron, took part in a guessing game of different 787 customers based on tails hanging from the hangar doors.
Visiting PAE and the Everett facility has always been a bucket list item of mine, so to actually take a walk on the factory floor and stand underneath the raked wingtips of a 787 was so wonderfully eye-opening. Stepping foot onto a ramp at an airport gives a semblance of humbling size, but watching the planes get assembled yields an appreciation of intricacy. Also hearing about some of the science/trivia behind why rudders (and on the 787, the full tail) come in pre-painted as well as other facts helped paint a fuller picture for all of us. Aaron also provided the group with an update on his work at United to resume commercial service at PAE.
MS: The Boeing Widebody Factory in Everett is the largest building in the world by volume. Boeing manufactures all 747s, 767s, 777s, and many 787s in this facility. As soon as we walked in, we were presented with a 747-8F being produced for UPS. The fact that an entire aircraft that size can fit in a building, and still have plenty of room around it, is just shocking once you see it.
The fact that we showed up on a Saturday was good. The factory was still running but was slower than a weekday would be, so we were able to take our time and enjoy the views of the building and aircraft and ask lots of questions without getting in the way. Over an almost four-mile walk in just one building, we got to see many things. We saw the second-ever 777X being produced for test flying. We also were able to view the new wings of this aircraft, which are so long the ends are designed to fold up when on the ground to be able to fit into the gates at the airport. We also saw a United 777 under construction that Brandon may fly someday, and the 176th 777 being produced for Emirates, which is the 1700th production of that aircraft! We were also able to view 787 Dreamliners in various stages: one was missing the wings, another missing engines, and the last one was just getting the interior installed. I was happily able to remember some of the aircraft, so if I ever see them out flying someday I can say, "Hey, I've seen that in person when it was still in pieces!"

While we couldn’t enter the areas that Boeing has on the field, we did get to view some aircraft on the flight lines. We saw some new P-8 Poseidons, several new Boeing KC-46 Pegasus refueling aircraft, and many 737s in various liveries. Off in the distance some new 737 MAX aircraft were spotted. We also learned that the tower on Boeing Field is the oldest one west of the Mississippi River, which I found interesting; it seems to have aged well.
DM: Matt Sykora also explained to our group how the field operates in such condensed airspace (BFI has the second highest amount of resident aircraft in the nation, behind only Teterboro, New Jersey). The group also witnessed a parallel approach between a Gulfstream on the main runway and a prop on the small runway. I obviously loved watching the flight line and guessing about some of the new 737s, some of which are going to carriers I had never heard of. However, what took me by surprise was the owners of each and every airplane hangar, corporate and personal, who keep their planes at BFI – some of the world’s richest. We then pivoted over to the Museum of Flight on the west side of the airport, where many landmark aircraft were on display.

DM: I also managed to be the last person in the museum that day allowed to board the 707 Air Force One and walk through the cabin, which, despite being one of the more run-down exhibits available for public viewing, nevertheless showed a glimpse of life in the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s aboard a flying White House. Other notable aircraft on display included the first 727 (United Airlines donation), first 737 (later a NASA testbed), first 747 in Boeing livery (Aaron and Nick were able to together identify all the launch customer logos from 1969 while Brandon explained how the boom for refueling works), and one of the first 787s.
After an afternoon break, we went to Ivar’s Salmon House for dinner on Lake Union. We were able to find our way to the restaurant and enjoyed a round of drinks and appetizers while Kyle secured parking in a far-off location. (He was powerless competing against UW-ASU football traffic.)
On Sunday morning we saw a real treat: Nick drinking Diet Coke for breakfast at Denny’s. We were treated to a tour of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) by Ruth Shumeye in Airport Operations. Everyone was brought upstairs to witness the airports’ offices. After seeing diverse paraphernalia in the cubicles (two domestic first class seats, a Mets hat, a Packers helmet, and of course tons of airplane models), we visited several different control rooms and were shown close to 100 different computer/TV screens monitoring airport activity.

Our next stop at the airport was the ramp tower. This tower is responsible for the ground handling side of controlling aircraft. There were three air traffic controllers who were controlling various sectors of the airport. From this spot they have a pretty good view of the entire area, except for some spots blocked by hangars or other buildings. We were able to see them give instructions to an aircraft that had pushed from a gate, watch it taxi from one side of the airport, and be passed off to the other controller working the other half, which would then eventually pass on to the tower controller in the much larger tower on the airport. As I am soon going into an ATC career myself, this was a cool experience to have, to be able to see how everything melds together.

MS: Our last stop for the day at the airport was at the Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting station. These guys are the ones who aren't only responsible for the safety of the airport, but the surrounding community as well. We were able to view the entire station with them, as well as much of their equipment. They had engines, ambulances, and a few different crash tenders. One interesting thing we learned here is they are one of the only airports left in the U.S. to have crash tenders with manual water turrets. They have to ride two firefighters in the truck; one drives, and when they get closer to the fire, the other one opens a door on the roof and stands to control the water turret from inside the cab. Newer crash tenders at most airports have one person who drives and controls the turrets using a joystick from inside the cab. We did learn that they are going to be phasing these out due to OSHA regulations, much to their disappointment—it is a sense of pride among them that they still do it the old way. We also received a demonstration of one of their newer crash tenders. They showed us the extending boom operation, as well as how the piercing nozzle would work if they need to spray water into an aircraft fuselage. They also demonstrated that the truck can spray water underneath it in case it gets fuel and fire below it while trying to put out a fire in close proximity.
DM: In my personal opinion, while all of our tours were astounding, the firehouse was by far and away the most comprehensive we received of the day. Every firefighter was extremely knowledgeable about aviation, fire procedures, FAA regulations, and their equipment, but they were all able to communicate in such a concise way that was easy to understand. I didn’t know that the fire department also assists with local fires in some cases, but it’s a really interesting angle on a fire department based on the amount of ground they cover.

DM: I always loved to mess around with the Kenmore Air planes in Flight Simulator X–visiting the real-life base was a bucket list item I didn’t even know I had. My friend’s place in Capitol Hill overlooks Lake Union (Kenmore’s main terminal), and actually getting to see plane after plane land at the main terminal made me appreciate the operation that much more.
After our tour, the group got to walk through the store, purchase some T-shirts, and then it was time to say goodbye for the 2018 reunion. A great weekend was had by all in advance of late flights back home. A big thanks to Aaron for organizing, Aaron and Kyle for driving, and all who came out to what was the most-attended reunion to date. See everyone in a couple of years!
MS: After the Kenmore Air tour, we all started to part ways, having to unfortunately venture back to our lives and jobs. This was definitely an awesome experience for me, being able to meet some friends I haven't talked to in many years. It was an experience I won't ever regret, and I look forward to being able to meet again and have many more adventures over the coming years!