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| Navy Jet Fighter Is for Sale on EBay |
| 2004-02-16 |
| My wife says it’s not in the budget. Anybody else interested? You can now have your very own Navy F/A-18A Hornet jet fighter — but some assembly may be required. Ain’t that always the way? The price for the jet, which formerly belonged to the Navy’s Blue Angels aerial demonstration team, is just over $1 million on the auction firm eBay, or about $9 million for a buyer who wants it assembled, painted and certified ready-to-fly. 8 million in labor? That’s kinda pricey. Only legal U.S. residents can bid. The auction is scheduled to end Thursday. An F/A-18 in 1997 cost the military $28 million, according to the Blue Angels’ official Web site. Mike Landa, of Landa and Associates, the Washington state brokerage that has listed the fighter on the Internet auction service, told The Virginian-Pilot that the jet is in parts and came out of military service in 1994. Landa wouldn’t identify the owner, but said he came by it legally. "This thing obviously slipped through the system somehow," Landa said. Yeah, obviously. Got any B-52’s on the lot? The FBI came out to visit Landa after he put the jet up for bidding. They wanted to know "what are you selling here," he said. "They wanted to have the scoop on it." Landa said he has no doubt that someone will surface to claim the Hornet. The jet’s model can fly about 1,400 mph and climb 30,000 feet in a minute. Makes a great Christmas gift... |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #19 Actually, TGA ain't all that far from the facts. As I recall, at Merrill barracks (aka Sudekaserne in Nuremburg), there were some old german weapons stored in the sub levels that we never bothered to retrieve because those levels were flooded. (I don't mean "a few feet of water" flooded, I mean "Holy Shit, where's the submarine!" flooded). Tanks, planes, all sorts of fun toys. Germany is STILL pulling up bits and pieces that the National Socialist crew buried thinking they'd have a rainy day sometime when they'd be able to retrieve them for the "Glory of the Fourth Reich". Fortunately, it didn't turn out that way. Ed. |
| Posted by: Ed Becerra 2004-2-16 10:45:37 PM |
#18 It's up to $25,000,000!
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| Posted by: Tony (UK) 2004-2-16 10:08:24 PM |
| #17 Geez, I got half an hour in the RAAF F/A18 sim. Took off out of Sydney at dusk, flew around did few aerobatics, beat up the tower, dealt with an engine fire and got it on the ground in one piece after a single engine ILS. Nice airplane! According to the guy who organised this you can burn a ton(yep 2200 pounds or so ) of fuel doing a 360 at low altitude. So pass the hat and don't be stingy. |
| Posted by: Aussie Mike 2004-2-16 9:16:25 PM |
| #16 Test flight will require a heavy front-end payment for fuel. Maybe we can borrow some tip-jar money from Fred....If we buy it for RB, where is it gonna be based? Wheelus? LOL! |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-2-16 8:56:27 PM |
| #15 "old Messerschmidt in my garage" What model?????? Lol! Isn't this the way of the world? $28M fighter new, "And what's this '?' mark mean on each of the maint checklist lines?" "Oh, that, the '?' indicates 'Insh'allah'... Sir? Sir, where are you going? Sir?" |
| Posted by: .com 2004-2-16 8:13:19 PM |
| #14 Hmmmm maybe it's time to give this old Messerschmidt in my garage a checkup? |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2004-2-16 8:01:47 PM |
| #13 We could ask Al-Aska Paul to give it a once-over before we bid...mebbe even take it out for a test-fly? |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2004-2-16 5:38:56 PM |
| #12 get a JetTrader at the 7-11, should have all the details and a polaroid of it |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-2-16 5:32:34 PM |
| #11 If I were to bid, I would like to know whether the IFF still works and whether the ammunition must be purchased seperately. Is there a version of Carfax for fighter aircraft. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-2-16 4:31:59 PM |
| #10 Remember the controversy not too long ago when there was a contest, and the first prize was a Harrier Jet? The guy who won tried to collect. Ended up in a really NASTY lawsuit. Personally, I think the F/A-18 is a bit overpriced. I'd personally rather buy something that has a better glide ratio than 1:800 - and doesn't drink JP-8 faster than my teenage daughter can spend money. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2004-2-16 1:19:38 PM |
| #9 Only in America can you buy a fighter jet online.:) |
| Posted by: djohn66 2004-2-16 1:05:44 PM |
| #8 No, just the outrageous price of the jet fuel. A $1,000 a gallon! More like $900 a gallon. It's Airway robbery! |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2004-2-16 11:48:14 AM |
| #7 Are batteries included? |
| Posted by: Yosemite Sam 2004-2-16 10:24:09 AM |
| #6 Here's the auction link. It's real (at least, the auction is real)! It's going to take more than rubber bands to hold the pieces together while the glues dries, too. I hope whoever buys it doesn't glue the canopy and wheel wells shut like I always did. How embarassing! |
| Posted by: Dar 2004-2-16 10:22:03 AM |
| #5 LOL Dar. I want a B-58. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-2-16 10:10:37 AM |
| #4 Seafarious is right. And how the hell is one supposed to twist those full size parts off the trees? You'd need like twelve friends just to twist off the fuselage! |
| Posted by: Dar 2004-2-16 9:48:47 AM |
| #3 Sounds like it might be a good addition to the Rantburg Air Force. Anyone want to pass the hat? |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2004-2-16 9:45:58 AM |
| #2 8 million in labor? That’s kinda pricey. Putting on all the decals takes a lot of fine detail work plus a really big pair of tweezers... |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2004-2-16 9:42:32 AM |
| #1 ...If Mr. Landa has any smarts at all, when the Navy comes to collect its property he'll make them an offer they can't refuse - their airplane for letting him ride in one of the Angels' 2 seaters all the way through a practice session. And if there ARE any BUFFS out there, go with the H models - faster and better mileage. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2004-2-16 9:41:12 AM |