The Museum of Flight, Grand Opening of New Aviation Pavilion

The Museum celebrates the opening of its new, 3-acre Aviation Pavilion June 25-26. The grand opening weekend for the roofed outdoor gallery will include live music and entertainment within the embrace of 17 classic planes. Boasting the “Pavilion Collection” of glamorous runway designs like the Boeing 747 prototype and Concorde, the festivities will also include airline-inspired fashion shows, swag bags for the first 500 visitors each day, designer eats and brews, plus stylish performances by aerial artists dangling from the rafters. The Museum and Pavilion will be open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and all events are free with admission to the Museum.

The Aviation Pavilion
The Museum of Flight’s Aviation Pavilion is a covered, outside gallery with 19 rare and unique commercial and military airplanes. The 3-acre display focuses on the dramatic development of large aircraft and commercial airliners from the 1930s to the present. The Pavilion also offers the first-ever exhibit about the business of air freight. The FedEx Air Cargo exhibit, built from the fuselage of a former FedEx Boeing 727 freighter, is a highly interactive, behind-the-scenes exploration into the world of air deliveries. The Pavilion also offers daily tours, a café, and a children’s play area in one of Seattle’s largest covered spaces.

The Aircraft in the Pavilion
For the first time, the Museum’s unrivaled collection of large commercial aircraft can be seen in one place. The airliner exhibit includes the world’s only presentation of the first Boeing 727, 737 and 747 jets, the first jet Air Force One, the extremely rare Boeing 247D and Douglas DC-2 airliners from the 1930s, the only Concorde on the West Coast, and the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The military line-up includes three big bombers–World War Two’s B-17F Flying Fortress and B-29 Superfortress, and the Cold War’s B-47 Stratojet; plus jet fighters spanning the wars from Korea to the Persian Gulf. Note: Air Force One, Boeing 727 and Boeing 247D will be exhibited outside of the Pavilion, next to the Museum entrance, until fall 2016.