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Upcycled and away
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Owning a piece of aviation history is easier than ever before
The Catalina PlaneTags are manufactured from the aluminium skin of a PBY-5A Catalina, Serial number Bu.46590 manufactured for the US Navy in 1944 at the Consolidated factory in New Orleans. It saw active USN service on patrol over the Atlantic and training missions over the Pacific. It then served with the US Coast Guard in Florida, Washington state and Alaska.
After many years in private hands, it was acquired 1979 by the Commemorative Air Force of Harlingen, Texas, which flies WW2 aircraft in airshows. The CAF then put it in Royal Australian Air Force colours as Catalina NB-N, the “Sea Bitch”. It flew the 9700 miles and 55 hours flying time from Monterey, California to Brisbane, Australia in January 1981 for an Australian tour celebrating the 60th anniversary of the RAAF.
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Watch the Making of the PBY-5A PlaneTag on YouTube.
SR-71
This PlaneTag is made from the original stabiliser of S/N 17967, which was replaced before the plane was delivered to Barksdale Global Power Museum at Barksdale AFB in Louisiana. The stabilizer was disassembled then upcycled into pocket-sized PlaneTags. They are made from the composite skin of the wing stabiliser.
Titan II
The Titan II PlaneTags are made from the skin of a Titan II missile, specifically from the spacer section used to make the Reentry Vehicle (where the W-53 warhead was carried) to the Stage II airframe. The material used is 2014-T6 aluminium, an alloy of aluminium and copper that was formulated specifically for the Titan II and not found anywhere else. The slightly golden colour is the result of Iridite, a chromium chemical conversion process applied to the airframe to prevent corrosion.
The Gimli Glider Boeing 767
This aircraft is cut from the skin of Air Canada Boeing 767-233 cn/serial number: 22520/47 C-GAU. On 23 July 1983, the aircraft ran out of fuel at 41,000ft. Captain Robert (Bob) Pearson and crew avoided major catastrophe by gliding the aircraft safely through the air to make an unheard of emergency landing at Gimli.
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