TOURING BOEING: See how planes are built in the world's largest building

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TOURING BOEING: See how planes are built in the world's largest building

The fuselage section, with wings attached, of a new Boeing 767-400ER jetliner, is lowered into position at the Boeing manufacturing plant in Everett, Wash., in this June 8, 1999, file photo. The plant, which encloses 472 million cubic feet of space and covers more than 98 acres, dwarfs the famous tall buildings of the world by volume and has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in the state. Every year, 140,000 visitors walk along the building's many catwalks, looking down on the wide-body jets being assembled below. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

By Shana McNally
The Associated Press

EVERETT, Wash. - The world's largest building is not in New York, Chicago or even Kuala Lumpur. It's right here, 30 miles north of Seattle, where many of the world's planes are manufactured.

Boeing Co.'s Everett manufacturing plant, which encloses 472 million cubic feet of space and covers more than 98 acres, dwarfs the famous tall buildings of the world in volume and has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in the state of Washington.

Every year, 140,000 visitors walk along the building's many catwalks, looking down on the wide-body jets being assembled below. Roughly 66 percent of the tour's annual visitors come from the United States and 13 percent from Europe.

It wasn't initially meant for visitors. Construction on the facility began in 1966, when Boeing announced it would start making the 747, a jetliner capable of carrying nearly twice as many passengers as previous models.

But before the first 747 even rolled out the door, 13,000 people came to the plant to see the planes being made. Company officials decided to create a tour, which began in 1968.

In 1984 a 5,500-square-foot tour center was added to accommodate visitors.

Part of the appeal of the tour lies in Boeing's name recognition.

Boeing jetliners take off once every 3.5 seconds or 24,600 times a day, flying over 3 million people about 17.1 million miles every 24 hours.

And there's the factory's size.

The facility, which is 11 stories tall, is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's largest building by volume.

To get some perspective on the sheer size, 911 basketball courts or 74 American style football fields would fit in the building. So would Disneyland - along with 12 acres of covered parking.

The building requires over 1 million light fixtures and has an $18 million annual electricity bill.

It was expanded by 45 percent in 1979 for production of the 767 and an additional 50 percent in 1990 for the 777.

Today, 24,000 people on three shifts work at the Everett site, which also has five cafeterias, two cafes, 12 food plazas, a medical clinic, a fire department and a day-care center.

The 70-minute tour starts with a seven-minute film in the 100-seat theater. The movie takes visitors in fast motion through the 11-month production of an airplane from small parts fabrication through flying.

After the movie, visitors take a short bus ride to the factory then walk down a set of steep stairs to the utility access tunnel under the factory floor. After a one-third-mile walk down the tunnel, an elevator takes visitors 35 feet above the factory floor.

Once on the metal catwalk, visitors can look down on the workers - tiny figures as seen from above - as they work the assembly line, pedal around on bicycles and tool around in golf carts.

Though only a small part of the production line is in view because of the building's size, visitors get some insight into the skill and organization it takes to fit millions of parts together and make a plane fly.

The 747 has 6 million parts, and the 767 and 777 each have more than 3 million.

"It was neat, very interesting to see everything close up and you can't conceive of the building's size until you're in the midst of it," says Krissa Ross, 29, visiting from Dallas, Texas.

Visitors also get a good idea of the various stages of manufacturing as tour guides point out the seven stations planes are moved through: wing systems installation, the wing and body joined, cleaning and sealing of the wing and center fuel tanks, the final body joined and in the final stages: installation and testing.

Another impressive part of the factory is the overhead crane system used to move wings and fuselages. The 26 cranes, 90 feet above, cruise on 31 miles of networked tracks. Eighteen 747 and 767 cranes lift 34 tons, while eight more 777 cranes can each lift 40 tons.

The tour ends with a drive through the flight line, where planes are tested. The flight line includes: three to five days to paint in the paint hangar, a weigh-in to calculate fuel and passengers and two test flights totaling eight hours.

After all these steps, the visitor comes to learn, the customer can come pick up their plane - at a hefty price tag. The 747 starts at $167 million, the 767 at $89 million and the 777 at $137 million.

IF YOU GO: The Boeing Plant Tour is at 3003 W. Casino Road, Everett. Hours are 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors and $3 for children. Visitors must be at least 4 feet 2 inches tall. Contact (800) 464-1476.

ON THE NET: www.boeing.com.

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