At Simple Flying we love the chance to own a piece of aircraft. The rarer the aircraft, the better. The opportunity to purchase part of a Boeing 707 that resided at Berlin Tegel Airport currently exists, with hundreds of pieces on auction until Sunday.
The aircraft formerly registered as 4X-ATB was scrapped wearing a Lufthansa livery. Intriguingly, the aircraft never actually flew for the German flag carrier. Instead, it flew for the Israeli El Al during its passenger career. In Berlin, the aircraft ended up wearing the Lufthansa livery after Boeing gifted the plane to the German flag carrier.
Engines for €2,500
Troostwijk Auctions are currently in the process of selling 280 parts from the former El Al Boeing 707. Some of the parts up for auction include the aircraft's Rolls-Royce Mark 508 engines. The engines come complete with their cowlings, meaning they would look perfect as a display in an office or foyer. They also come with an engine rack to stand them. Three engines are for sale, with bids for each starting at €2,500. A fourth engine has been turned into individual parts, which can be bought separately.
Another intriguing part up for auction is the Boeing 707's main landing gear. The left and right-hand gears are being sold separately, with bidding for each starting at €500. Due to their size, these more oversized items, such as the landing gear and engines, can't be shipped with UPS. They can be picked up from the auction house in the north of Hamburg, or shipping can be arranged at the buyer's expense.
A colorful history
The Boeing 707 being auctioned has a bit of exciting history. While it has spent the last few decades as a showpiece at Berlin's Tegel Airport, the aircraft being auctioned once took center stage in an attempted hijacking. Two attackers failed to storm the cockpit with a gun and a hand grenade. The flight, heading from Amsterdam to New York, diverted to London Heathrow.
El Al handed the aircraft back to Boeing in 1986, but it didn't stay with the American planemaker for long. Instead, the jet was gifted to Lufthansa a couple of months later to mark the company's 200th Boeing order. The aircraft was repainted in the livery of Lufthansa's D-ABOC, named Berlin.
It kept this livery until it was scrapped, meaning that fuselage pieces from the plane are available in the carrier's iconic blue, yellow, and white livery. Bidding for fuselage panels containing a window start at €50 and come in a range of sizes up to four windows.
Other iconic fuselage pieces contain the aircraft's identities. A fuselage piece containing the logo of the city of Berlin has 14 bids, currently standing at €120. Meanwhile, a portion of the fuselage with the aircraft's Boeing 707 branding has attracted 13 bids and a price of €628. The jet's registration (D-ABOC) has 11 bids and sits at €210.
From €5 to €5000
There is something available at every single price point in the auction of 4X-ATB/D-ABOC. For those who want a piece of aviation history without a hefty price tag, many smaller fuselage panels are available with bidding starting at just €5.
At the other end of the spectrum is the aircraft's cockpit, complete with a nose cone. With bidding starting at €5,000, this is undoubtedly the highlight of the aircraft auction. The cockpit's interior is in a state of relative disrepair, though a large portion remains, including a seat and some instrumentation. Due to its size, the cockpit needs to be transported on a low-loader truck, which can be achieved sideways.
The auction of the parts from this aircraft is set to end at 15:00 on Sunday, October 24th. After this date, Troostwijk Auctions will arrange payment and shipping with the highest bidders. You can find a complete list of all the pieces up for auction on the Troostwijk Auctions website.
Troostwijk Auctions sponsored this article.