Professional Pilot, January 2016

52 PROFESSIONAL PILOT January 2016 Douglas Wilson started as a lineman at JGG Williamsburg VA An active pilot he now serves as President of FBO Partners an aviation consulting firm specializing in asset management marketing and other FBO disciplines Among those hangar complexes on the east side other FBOs sprang up to compete with incumbent Galvin as the decades passed Flight Center once owned by the Pape family operated an FBO before selling and rebranding as the Clay Lacy FBO in Seattle On the extreme south end of the airfield the current AeroFlight Executive Services supplanted the former Seattle Air Corporation By 1978 a new arrivals building to handle international traffic to Boeing Field was constructed to house Customs and Immigration As late as 1998 an ILS system was installed on Rwy 31L More recently after 84 years Galvin Flying Services changed hands becoming a Landmark Aviation FBO location in 2014 Hidden gems at BFI Today the balance of the east side of Boeing Field is comprised of numerous corporate flight departments FBOs fixed and rotary wing flight schools and air carrier cargo operators such as UPS and DHL ABX A few small airlines continue to operate from Boeing Field including Kenmore Air Express an operator of Cessna Caravans who flies regularly scheduled service to the San Juan Held every May in Seattle the annual Microsoft CEO summit inundates FBOs at Boeing Field including Clay Lacy Aviation In the distance the curved roof of the one of the original Quonset hut style hangars now since replaced is visible Though forever associated with VNY Van Nuys CA Clay Lacy and associate Joe Clark of Aviation Partners formed the Clay Lacy branded FBO at BFI Islands and beyond The west side continues to house Boeing Flight Test operations and the 737 Customer Delivery Center though aircraft production has long since ended at Boeing Field All Boeing 737s are built at nearby Renton airport and flown over the hill to Boeing on their initial test flights Unknown to most including locals is the modern manifestation of an aviation easement across East Marginal Way that Boeing has held since World War II Near the Museum of Flight on the west side of East Marginal a hangar quietly sits housing P8A Poseidons as they are militarized for service At night much like the B17s that once rolled across the road from Plant 2 East Marginal Way is closed to traffic briefly as a P8A Poseidon is towed across This easement lay dormant for some 70 years before being reactivated with the P8A program For the true aficionado remnants of a pre war Boeing Field still remain The original terminal building now lovingly restored continues to operate to this day housing Kenmore Air Express and King County Airport administration among others More interesting perhaps and hiding in plain sight is half of one of the 4 original brick hangars built in the early 1930s Soon however it too will be gone in favor of new development At 7149 Perimeter Rd S on the property of the current location of Landmark Aviation formerly Galvin the FBO is in fact attached to the remaining half of one of the original 4 brick hangars Called simply Hangar 1 by the employees the hangar still reveals its original leaded glass windows in the hangar doors which are moved by nothing more than elbow grease In the ceiling among the steel beams and wood roof are the vestiges of metal tracks that once moved radial aircraft engines prior to installation Always a jewel of the northwest Boeing Field has much to offer pilots passengers and aviation historians alike Landmark Aviation BFI holds a unique history Not only was it once home to Jim Galvins FBO the terminal itself is attached to one of the original 4 brick hangars built at Boeing Field