wanttaja@ssc-vax.UUCP (Ronald J Wanttaja) (01/25/86)
For Sale at Boeing Surpus Store: 1 Each 747 spiral staircase, carpeted,
$250! (20% off for Boeing employees...)
I realize that this may not be of specific interest to net.aviation in
general (except for you folks from New Jersey...:-) ), but I'm using it to
bring up the subject of aviation junk sources. Anybody have good sources
for neat (and cheap) esoteric aviation hardware?
The Boeing Surplus store here in Kent has, occasionally, some very neat
stuff. Last year they had a complete, full scale cockpit mockup for a 757
for $400. This had stickers instead of actual instruments, and no seats or
yokes, but it was about eight feet high, ten feet wide, and twenty feet high.
You could walk forward, squat down and be looking out the windows of your
own 757. I racked my brain for a week, trying to think of a valid reason
to buy the thing (Look, honey, a cover for the Hot Tub!). A guy eventually
picked it up as a playhouse for his kids, a lot better use than I could
have given.
But I haven't always been skunked... two of my prize possessions came from
there:
1. A 727 Copilot seat, for $20. After an hour's or so work, I got all
the bells and whistles working; it goes up and down, reclines, etc. I
put a swivel base on it, my wife made burgundy slipcovers, and it's
now my computing chair.
2. A B-29 autopilot control joystick, for $15. A massive analog
joystick, with a beau-ti-full grip, with all the buttons. I rigged it
to mount in the yoke cutout on the 727 seat, and built an A-D converter
for using it with my C-64. Lends a whole new dimension to flight
simulators, and is unbelievable with "F-15 Strike Eagle"!
I picked up a full-color 8-ball type attitude indicator at a surplus store
in Aurora, Co ($15) and a 25-lb practice bomb in Denver for $7.98. I saw a
250 lb practice bomb (250 when water-filled) at another place in Aurora
last summer, but couldn't figure out a way to carry it on the airlines on
my way back.
Anyway, I travel a bit, and am interested in places that stock neat stuff
like this. Anyone know any good places, or even those who have catalogs I
could write for?
Ron Wanttaja
(ssc-vax!wanttaja)chris@ico.UUCP (01/31/86)
Do you happen to remember where these surplus stores were? I live in the Denver area (Boulder to be exact) and would love to find some things like this. Thanks chris Chris Kostanick hao!ico!chris ihnp4!vortex!ism780!ico!chris
john@anasazi.UUCP (John Moore) (02/01/86)
In article <512@ssc-vax.UUCP> wanttaja@ssc-vax.UUCP (Ronald J Wanttaja) writes: >For Sale at Boeing Surpus Store: 1 Each 747 spiral staircase, carpeted, >$250! (20% off for Boeing employees...) > >I realize that this may not be of specific interest to net.aviation in >general (except for you folks from New Jersey...:-) ), but I'm using it to >bring up the subject of aviation junk sources. Anybody have good sources How about space junk? A friend took me to several surplus stores in southern California, and we found a number of goodies including: A Gemini reaction control system valve assembly (cost me $70), console lights from an Apollo capsule, an actuator from a space shuttle, a surplus airforce satellite (unused, of course!). He has collected, over the years from these sources, a Viking orbiter (really - I've seen the thing), and Apollo capsule and almost all of the avionics, and a number of miscellaneous rocket engines, guidance systems, radios, etc. This stuff, however, didn't all come cheap. I don't know the names of the stores, but if you look around Van Nuys or Pasadena, you might find one of them. Figuring out what is what in the stores, however, is quite an art. >for neat (and cheap) esoteric aviation hardware? -- John Moore (NJ7E/XE1HDO) {decvax|ihnp4|hao}!noao!terak!anasazi!john {hao!noao|decvax|ihnp4|seismo}!terak!anasazi!john terak!anasazi!john@SEISMO.CSS.GOV (602) 951-9326 (day or evening) 7525 Clearwater Pkwy, Paradise Valley, AZ, 85253 (Home Address)
hsu@eneevax.UUCP (Dave Hsu) (02/04/86)
In article <518@anasazi.UUCP> john@anasazi.UUCP (John Moore) writes: > How about space junk? A friend took me to several surplus stores >in southern California, and we found a number of goodies including: > A Gemini reaction control system valve assembly (cost me $70), >console lights from an Apollo capsule, an actuator from a space shuttle, >a surplus airforce satellite (unused, of course!). > He has collected, over the years from these sources, a Viking >orbiter (really - I've seen the thing), and Apollo capsule and almost >all of the avionics, and a number of miscellaneous rocket engines, >guidance systems, radios, etc. This stuff, however, didn't all come >cheap. > I don't know the names of the stores, but if you look around >Van Nuys or Pasadena, you might find one of them. Figuring out what >is what in the stores, however, is quite an art. >>for neat (and cheap) esoteric aviation hardware? >-- >John Moore (NJ7E/XE1HDO) I realize we may be off the beaten path here, but whatever happened to that guy who was constructing the VolksRocket X-1? He picked up almost all of his toys from space junkyards... -dave -- David Hsu Communication & Signal Processing Lab, EE Department <disclaimer> University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 hsu@eneevax.umd.edu {seismo,allegra}!umcp-cs!eneevax!hsu CF522@UMDD.BITNET "Vern Vern Vern Vern Vern Vern Vern, you've done it now, buddy..." -Ernest P. Worrell
john@anasazi.UUCP (John Moore) (02/13/86)
In article <36200001@ico.UUCP> chris@ico.UUCP writes: > >Do you happen to remember where these surplus stores were? I >live in the Denver area (Boulder to be exact) and would love >to find some things like this. > > Thanks > chris > > Chris Kostanick > hao!ico!chris > ihnp4!vortex!ism780!ico!chris The only one I know of is the surplus yard at Martin-Marietta outside of Denver. They had a few little pieces when I went out there a couple of years ago. -- John Moore (NJ7E/XE1HDO) {decvax|ihnp4|hao}!noao!terak!anasazi!john {hao!noao|decvax|ihnp4|seismo}!terak!anasazi!john terak!anasazi!john@SEISMO.CSS.GOV (602) 951-9326 (day or evening) 7525 Clearwater Pkwy, Paradise Valley, AZ, 85253 (Home Address) The opinions expressed here are obviously not mine, so they must be someone else's.