If you’ve never stepped on a Dreamliner, this weekend may be your chance. Boeing is donating one of its early Dreamliners to Seattle’s Museum of Flight, and Saturday will be the first day the public can go inside.
Museum spokesman Mike Bush says getting the Dreamliner is a big win.
"This will be the first one that’s on display in a museum anywhere in the world," Bush said.
The plane is the third Dreamliner ever built. The 787 marked a major shift in airline technology, replacing aluminum with carbon fiber for better fuel efficiency. But the earliest versions of the plane have been hard for Boeing to sell because they required so many modifications.
Now the Seattle public will benefit by getting this one as a museum piece. Bush says this plane flew to 23 countries as part of the "Dream Tour" to showcase the Dreamliner to potential airline customers.
The front part of the cabin will be configured with seats, just as it would be for an airline; the back instead has an exhibit about the plane’s history. Bush says the aircraft will even have the special mood lighting called the Boeing Sky Interior.
"It’s really spectacular," he said. "They can do kind of a rainbow configuration, and this plane is tricked out unlike anything you’ll ever see. It’s absolutely gorgeous."
This weekend, Boeing employees, retirees, suppliers and their guests will get into the museum for free. Then the plane will be taken out of public view to finish creating the exhibit and will be back permanently on Nov. 22.
