William Boeing studied at Yale Engineering School before leaving to make his fortune on the West Coast. After trading forests, Boeing moved to Seattle, Washington. In 1910 he participated in the first American air meeting in Los Angeles. He returned to Seattle eager to explore the new field of aviation. The next five years gave Boeing the opportunity to discuss all the possibilities with George Westervelt, a Navy engineer who had studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and taken several aeronautics courses. They quickly decided that they could build the best airplane on the market. Although Westervelt's naval duties called him east before they finished building their first plane, Boeing continued to build the B&Ws. Boeing incorporated the company as Pacific Aero Products Co. in 1916, but renamed it Boeing Airplane Co. a year later. In 1917, the company employed 28 people, from pilots to boat builders. When the company faced financial difficulties, Boeing used its own resources to secure a loan to cover salaries. World War I created the first large-scale demand for American aircraft. The Navy needed training planes, and officials were determining which models to buy at the base in Pensacola, Florida. Since the Model C seaplane could not fly from Seattle to the base, Boeing shipped two planes, by train, across the country. The demonstration went well and the Navy ordered 50 planes. In 1918, Boeing had 337 employees on its payroll. When the war ended, the Army's demand for airplanes ceased. Civil aircraft also met limited demand. Boeing Airplane Co. competed with war surplus planes. To survive, the company began building furniture and sea sleds. Although Boeing received the limit... half of the document......tive/n004boe.htmlhttp://www.boeing.com/history/narrative/n005boe.htmlhttp://www.boeing.com/history / narrative/n010boe.htmlhttp://www.boeing.com/history/narrative/n011boe.htmlhttp://www.boeing.com/history/narrative/n013boe.htmlhttp://www.boeing.com/history/narrative/ n015boe.htmlhttp://www.boeing.com/history/narrative/n033boe.htmlhttp://www.boeing.com/history/narrative/n034boe.htmlhttp://www.boeing.com/history/narrative/n053boe . htmlhttp://www.airbus.com/company/history/the-narrative/early-days-1967-1969/http://media.pearsoncmg.com/ph/bp/bp_mylabs/akamai/template/video640x480.php ? title=Airbus%20vs%20Boeing&clip=pandc/bp/2012/MGMT/IB/AirbusBoeing_H.264.mov&caption=bp/bp_mylabs/akamai/2012/MGMT/IB/xml/AirbusBoeing.adb.xmlhttp://www.bloomberg . com/news/2011-09-07/fedex-said-to-weigh-boeing-airbus-wide-body-order-to-renew-delivery-fleet.html