REPORT

2017 US Aviation Tour:Day3September 27, 2017

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*Visiting Boeing's Everett factory*
On September 27th we visited Boeing’s Everette factory which was about 40 minutes from Seattle. We first gathered at the Harbour Pointe Technical Center and watched a video about new studies done by Boeing. It was about the reduction of noise, which involves cooperation with airlines such as ANA. After that we visited Everett factory. The factory is 500m long running North to South, 1000m long running East to West, and 115 feet tall, holding the Guinness World Record as the largest building for its volume. Looking at the factory from both inside and outside was magnificent. We saw three assembly lines and 3 to 5 airplanes were being created on each line. Observing the most popular and familiar airplanes in the world, which are the747, 777, and 787, we thought they were really impressing. The guide told us about the details of the assembling process. It was interesting that when they connect the upper part and the lower part of the fuselage, they rotate it upside down. We understood that Boeing is pursuing faster and more efficient ways to improve the line. In order to realize this aim, they introduced automatic assembly machines in a few sections, such as the wings. However, not only these hardwares but also human ideas are also important to raise the efficiency, for example, such as setting parts and tools to certain positions so that the employees can easily notice what to do next. The fact that even the leading company in the world is making such a steady effort was quite amazing for us. We were also surprised that some engines (maybe new ones) were left outside the factory, wrapped by a thin cover. Engines are definitely the heart of an airplane so, we thought they would be more securely placed. Maybe this is also a result of pursuing high efficiency inside the factory.
After the observation, we went back to the technical center and had lunch. In the afternoon we had a presentation and discussion with the engineers from Boeing. Each side made a presentation, and the themes were about the use of AR in aircrafts, supersonic transportation, AC&I in initially design questions, flight control systems and more. Every presentation was interesting and we had an instructive time. We were impressed by the knowledge and passion of the engineers, and we are sure that this great opportunity will encourage us to study much harder at the university.

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