Ever wonder what happened to all of the older aircraft that have been retired? Sure, there’s plenty of them sitting in dirt lots in southern Arizona, and quite a few of them are on their fourth or fifth lives in countries that aren’t buying new planes, but a lot of them get dismantled and the parts are recycled. It’s kind of a shame, really…while there is the safety issue with older aircraft, surely there is a better use for the parts than fodder for the recyclers. Boeing seems to think so, and has an answer for the person in your life who has nearly everything under the sun, or the one who is simply an aviation freak. They take pieces from aircraft that are being recycled, clean and refinish them before they are put up for sale.
That table in the lead picture? That’s the turbofan from a 727, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what the company offers:
A pair of business-class seats from a 737…
…to a coffee table made from the wheel of a 727…
…to a window from a 747-400…
…and a mirror made from the engine bearing of a 727.
Now, we’ll be upfront about it, these can be on the pricey side, but there are other pieces that are a lot easier on the wallet. Boeing has trouble keeping these furniture pieces and office decorations in stock due to demand. In addition, Boeing has made all of their corporate picture gallery available for sale, so if you’re a plane freak and would like one of the official pictures from the company, all you have to do is search for the plane you want, find the picture you’d like and you can order it, even framed. And the library is huge, with modern shots, vintage pictures (including some great 1970’s era interior shots) and build photos from the factory.
Only a few days left until the big holiday, but with a gift like one of these, we highly doubt that they will mind it being late a couple of days.
CLICK HERE for the Boeing Store, where you can find the furniture and office decorations
CLICK HERE for the Boeing Images shop
Photo: Boeing
Another place for aviation buffs to drool over re-purposed aircraft items is motoart.com. Deep pockets are required here too.