The ultimate man’s toy could be yours at last! That is, if you have the checkbook to pay for it.
What man toy do I have in mind? Oh simple. There’s a Harrier fighter jet currently being sold on eBay!
The plane is a decommissioned Royal Navy Sea Harrier FA2 that was in service between 1987 and 1997. It served with all three Fleet Air Arm Harrier squadrons.
Do you know what a Harrier fighter plane is? As a kid, I was amazed by the Harrier fighters! These were the planes that could take off like a helicopter, no runway was required. They would lift straight up off the ground and land in the same fashion, straight down. They were amazing to watch, especially after seeing normal planes, especially jets that needed long runways to take off and land. The Harrier was the perfect jet for aircraft carriers and to use in rough terrain areas—with their capability of landing and taking off with zero runway—wow!
I always thought that if I were not afraid of heights and wanted to be a pilot, that’s the plane I would have wanted to fly! It was just so different, so unique.
Well, now, any of us can own our very own Harrier! But anyone wanting to take to the skies in this particular plane will be disappointed. It is not airworthy. There is no engine fitted. Many of the internal systems have been removed or made inoperative. Even the cockpit has been stripped out—oh, they did put in a mock cockpit so, from the outside, it appears to have a seat fitted.
Well, despite the age of the plane, the fact that it has no engine, internal systems, or even cockpit, the auction price has already exceeded $40,000—that’s just “a little” out of my price range!
The plane’s owner said, “This is a rare opportunity. You will not find a static display Harrier this complete for sale anywhere else in the world. The aircraft is externally complete to static display/museum standards and would make a truly stunning garden feature or museum exhibit.”
A garden feature? Is that like a Koi pond? A rock garden? A rose garden? Can you see yourself coming home, telling your wife, “Honey, you’ll never guess what I bought for the backyard—you’re going to love it!”
Oh, just in case you are interested in the plane, it is currently in Bradford, England, and can be shipped to many countries around the world to the buyer and assembled.
And, in case you’d like to know, my birthday is coming up in a couple of months. Email me privately and I’ll give you my mailing address, if you’d like to “surprise” me (and my wife, of course). I know we would love it in our backyard, and so would my neighbors! Sure beats the trampoline they have in theirs!
Don't be too surprised if you wake up on your birthday and see it in your backyard. Then you can take your son to it and regale him with your fighter pilot stories (if only you weren't afraid of heights) but how would he know? And to top off the ensemble I offer free marriage counseling that is sure to be needed with that addition to your backyard.
ReplyDeleteLet's go ahead and start the free counseling, no need to wait until I need it!
ReplyDeleteI would suspect that someone who would pay over $40k for something that doesn't fly, doesn't have its "guts" and takes up a whole lot of room needs more than marriage counseling. For that I refer to you another counselor...Mr. I R Smart N U R Not.
ReplyDeleteI suspect you and I will be fine in this area, since we don't have more money than commonsense. In both of our lines of work, our employers make sure of that! Then again, we don't serve for money, we serve because we are called to serve.
ReplyDelete