An Era of Aviation

1998
Boeing’s office on Lakewood Boulevard in Long Beach, Calif.  (Glenn Koenig / LAT)

1998
Boeing employees work on the tail section of an MD-11 at the company’s Long Beach, Calif., plant. Boeing announced in December that it was laying off an additional 20,000 employees as orders reduced after the Asian financial crisis. Earlier in the year, the company said 28,000 jobs would be eliminated through the end of 1999.  (Nick Ut / AP)

2000
Boeing’s 717 aircraft manufacturing line in Long Beach, Calif.  (Lawrence K. Ho / LAT)

2001
A sign above Boeing’s facility in Long Beach, Calif., promotes the company’s 717 airplane. Boeing opted in December 2001 to scale back production of its money-losing 717 airplane rather than scrap the program, and predicted a whopping $700 million in fourth-quarter charges stemming mostly from the Sept. 11 attacks.  (Kim D. Johnson / AP)

2002
Boeing workers gather inside a hangar at the Long Beach Airport for the delivery of the 100th C-17 military transport jet.  (Luis Sinco / LAT)

2002
Three C-17’s are assembled at Boeing’s 1.1 million square-foot Long Beach, Calif., facility.  (Richard Hartog / LAT)

2002
Boeing workers gather inside a hangar at the Long Beach Airport to celebrate the delivery of the 100th C-17 military transport jet.  (Luis Sinco / LAT)

2004
This bell is rung when new orders come in at Boeing’s plant in Long Beach, Calif.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / LAT)

2005
Two fuselages from a C-17 military cargo plane can be seen at the Boeing facility in Long Beach, Calif.  (Lori Shepler / LAT)

2005
A C-17 military cargo plane is shown being assembled at the Boeing facility in Long Beach, Calif.  (Lori Shepler / LAT)

2005
One of the new C-17 military cargo planes that was assembled at the Boeing’s facility in Long Beach, Calif., is readied for tests.  (Lori Shepler / LAT)

2005
Master Sgt. Ray Ganotoise of the Hawaii National Guard blesses one of the C-17 military cargo planes being assembled at the Boeing’s facility in Long Beach, Calif. The planes are scheduled to be delivered to Hawaii. Ganotoise is also a priest.  (Lori Shepler / LAT)