Aero Engine Fest

[fest]

I recently had the chance to tour the Museum of Flight
at Boeing Field in Seattle (on a business trip to Boeing)

as we only had an hour or so
(next time I plan at LEAST 1/2 day)
I made a beeline for the WWII display;
and I was not disappointed

best of all, along with most of the aircraft
they had the corresponding areo engine on display
and some were even the 'cut away' types that we are so fond of

some of the types on display were:
the ubtiquous Packard V12
(one of the Heads was cast by BUICK)
the Allison V12
Pratt
Cyclone
Wasp
etc, etc, etc

they also had a Jet Engine from an ME-262
that was a cutaway as well
and it really blew my mind to see this one
as this is (obviously) one rare critter
(S/N was # 3 BTW)
and being able to examine one up close was just too cool
(OK I admit it,
I had to see if it still turned over and it is still incredibly SMOOTH)

the Engines were for the most part on open display
readily accessible for up close examination
(and even a little discreet fiddiling if you just can't resist)

the displays of the aircraft themselves were top notch as well
as they were all up close and personal
(not tucked away behind the velvet ropes like most displays)
and in some cases were hung from the ceiling
so you could walk right under them

there was also a lot of memorabilia
(like Flight Jackets, another big favorite of mine)
and they piped in sounds of aircraft in combat
had a lot of interactive video, etc

highly recommended if in the Seattle Area
(admission is around $20 but I got in free ;)

luckily, I was able to avoid the Gift Shop
but may not be so fortunate next time
(I have a slight Diecast problem, you see)

AKB
no Ferrari YET

[tyang]

Hi Andrew,

O.K., It's on the list of things to do if I ever find myself in Seattle one day!!

Tom

[fest]

this would make a nice addition to my Den to be sure
http://www.motoart.com/html/tables.htm
Radial Engine Table

check out the other stuff they got; TOO COOL
(I like the B-52 chair)

the fact that they don't post prices is scary, however

AKB

[RallyGTX]

If you are in the area again and have a bit more time, check out the ME 262 project at Paine Field. They are building (IIRC) 5 'replica' aircraft, but with modern engines and (again, IIRC) avionics.

They give tours and I believe a 'just dropped by' basis is no problem.

Also, the Museum of Flight restoration center is there as well, but on the other side of the airport (by the main entrance) and there are some neat toys in there as well.