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BOEING WATCH U . S . FLY By Michael Lombardi , Senior Corporate Historian , The Boeing Company

The Boeing model B-1 was the company ’ s first commercial airplane . Built in 1919 , it was sold to Edward Hubbard who flew airmail between Seattle and Vancouver . In 1954 , the B-1 made its way to Seattle ’ s Museum of History and Industry where it is on display “ flying ” in the same airspace it flew in 100 years ago .
100 Years of Boeing in the Pacific Northwest
Michael Lombardi Watch U . S . Fly www . watchusfly . com
Senior Corporate Historian The Boeing Company

On July 15 , 1916 , William Boeing founded The Boeing Company after launching his first plane from the shores of Seattle ’ s Lake Union . It was the realization of his dream to build his own flying machine , but Bill Boeing had an even greater vision : a world served by the airplane for both passenger travel and as an instrument to defend freedom .

That vision sustained the company through its first crisis in 1918 when the end of the First World War brought an end to airplane orders , and the Spanish flu ’ s arrival in the Pacific Northwest created an environment quite similar to the one in which we ’ re living today .
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