The Future of Flight Foundation

Posted by Gary O'Rielly 
on Apr 15, 2013
 
This past week's program begins our series on aviation in the Pacific Northwest, Everett and the surrounding area. The Future of Flight Museum opened in 2005 and is located near the Boeing Assembly Plant and Paine Field Airport. It is close to Puget Sound and across from the Hilton Garden Hotel. Ironically, Barry Smith, Executive Director of the Future of Flight Foundation/Museum grew up in Mukilteo just down the street from where the Museum is located at 84th St SW and Paine Field Blvd. During a visit to Munich, Germany he was at their museum of flight and three of the museum's mechanics were very familiar about Everett and the Boeing Company.

The Marketing group at Boeing responsible for the tours shut it down because of the expense associated with giving these tours. Barry Smith developed a marketing plan over a five year period to build the Museum of Flight and to take over the Boeing Tour. Soon after opening the museum, the then Chinese Premier toured the vast Boeing Assembly Plant which showcased the importance of the tours. The tour starts at the Museum of Flight, where you board a bus to the Assembly factory and take a guided tour inside the plant. Now, all three of the production lines are included in the 1 1/2 hour tour. When Boeing delivers an aircraft to an airline the ceremony takes place at the Museum of Flight.

Barry Smith is the Executive Director of the Future of Flight Foundation. He is a graduate of Everett High School who's mascot is the seagull--a bird of flight. Smith has a BA in History from the University of Washington and a graduate of the PCBS School of Business at the University of Washington, the Defense Language Institute in German in Monterey, California. Smith founded a client base through funding advanced charitable planning devices with high net worth clients and after retiring from banking he had evolved a unique expertise in the transfer of private aircraft to aviation museums. In 2005, these skills provided a key leadership role in the formation, building and operating the Future of Flight Aviation Center and the Boeing Tour. Average attendance has grown from 80,000 to over 300,000 visitors annually from throughout the world. Barry, his wife Carol and two daughters have lived in Everett for over 35 years.