The value of History The Boeing Store’s innovative offerings tap a huge market for company-branded items and aerospace nostalgia by Dan Raley | Photos by Bob Ferguson Gerardo Mores, buyer and product developer for The Boeing Store, was on a business trip like no other in late 2013. He stood in a darkened, run-down warehouse in Tampa, Fla., huddled with others around a shipping crate held together by rusted screws, ready to inspect the contents. “We opened up that crate,” Mores recalled, “and it was like something out of Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Inside were six B-17 propeller blades produced for World War II , somehow undisturbed for more than seven decades. Paperwork, tucked in a leather packing slip, was dated 1941. Indiana Jones would have been in awe— this was the ultimate time capsule. As Boeing readies for its 2016 centennial celebration, and employees and airplane enthusiasts express a strong desire to acquire something unforgettable to commemorate the major milestone, the company is using innovative and investigative means to meet demand. Mores and others have followed leads around the country to see what kind of iconic airplane parts can be retrieved, refurbished and resold. They’ve searched desert airfields, aircraft demolition and recycling companies, private collections, and even eBay for historical treasures. They’ve come back with passenger windows, wing flaps, rudder pedals, instrument panels, yokes, seats and more. Testing this admittedly high-end market, The Boeing Store offered up 50 windows plied from a retired 747-100 jumbo jet, each bordered by a couple inches of buffed fuselage, signed by legendary design engineer Joe Sutter and priced at $695. The vintage window supply was expected Photo: Gerardo Mores of The Boeing Store inspects a 747 engine part, a Pratt & Whitney turbine ring, which will be refurbished and sold as a centennial gift. JuLy 2015 25
Frontiers July 2015 Issue
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