U nlike stealing items such as blankets and pillows from airplanes — as is the topic of this recent article — you can attend what are known as surplus sales where you can purchase just about anything which has to do with commercial aviation.
Surplus Sales: Buy Way Cool Items Instead of Stealing Them — Like a Landing Gear
I attended a surplus sale at what was then known as the Delta Heritage Museum — now the Delta Flight Museum — at the world headquarters of Delta Air Lines in October of 2012; and they had virtually anything of which you can think on sale.
In fact, here is the verbiage found at the official Internet web site of the Delta Flight Museum:
Surplus Sales regularly take place the second Friday of each month from 9am to 2pm in the Museum Support Building (MSB) across from Hangar 1. These sales are a fundraiser for the Museum and feature vintage and surplus items not available in the Museum Store. They’re a treasure hunt each time — you never know what you’ll find.
Treasure hunt can be an understatement. Here are some of the way cool — pardon the lack of proper grammar based on ebullience — items I found at the surplus sale which I attended:
For $125.00, you could have purchased a row of three economy class seats — enough of a selection to fill your own aircraft.
Want to feel like a member of the flight crew? You could purchase your very own crew rest for only $475.00 — apparently marked down.
This galley setup cost $50.00 — but apparently the carts, doors and other “accessories” are not included. Do not expect a coffee maker or an oven to be included, either.
If you ever wanted your own lavatory, urine luck — this one was available for only $50.00. Although neither the toilet nor the blue liquid which fills it is apparently included in the price; but you can smoke in it without being concerned about violating federal law.
This landing gear of a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 aircraft could have been yours for only $1,500.00 — or probably less money if your offer was good enough, as it had to be moved that day.
Summary
Be aware that shipping is not available on surplus sale items — including aircraft parts and furniture. If you want to purchase the above items, you need to ensure that you have a vehicle which could haul them away, as if you plan to purchase an item of a larger size, then you should arrive at the surplus sale with a vehicle of an appropriately larger size. All items purchased at the surplus sale must be removed on that day.
The next surplus sale will occur in the Museum Support Building beside the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 and Boeing 757 aircraft parked next to the gate entrance of the Delta Flight Museum on Friday, June 17, 2016 from 9:00 in the morning to 2:00 in the afternoon Eastern Daylight Time.
Although I know that you would certainly not steal anything, it is important to note that you can purchase blankets and pillows at surplus sales as well — and model airplanes, plates and silverware, and all sorts of other things…
All photographs ©2012 by Brian Cohen.
