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A new twist on renting airplanes

By Meg Godlewski · February 17, 2006 ·

What better way to decorate for an event where aircraft are the guests of honor than with furniture made from aircraft?

MotoArt, a Torrance, Calif.-based company that takes parts from derelict airplanes and turns them into high-end sculptures and furniture, can provide the decorations. However, since MotoArt’s pieces are limited editions, they tend to be pricey and beyond the means of many aviators to buy. Renting them is now a possibility, says MotoArt co-founder Dave Hall.

Company officials came up with the idea of renting out pieces last year when the Red Bull beverage company contacted them about the idea of using some MotoArt pieces to decorate their exhibit at the Red Bull Air Races in San Francisco.

“They rented 27 pieces from us, including the First Class Chairs,” said Hall, noting the pieces were used to decorate the VIP lounge. “They paid about 20% of the retail price of the items for the rental.”

On the heels of the Red Bull race came a request from the sponsors of Aviation Nation, an air show at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, to use MotoArt pieces to decorate that show’s VIP lounge.

“We thought, ‘We are on to something here!'” said Hall, and the rental side of MotoArt was established.

Among the pieces available for rent are a radial engine coffee table, a Boeing 707 wheel table, an F-4 Phantom burner can table, DC-9 and B-25 desks, 10 sets of first class chairs, World War II bomb tables, Mark-84 bomb tables and the Aqua bomb fish tank. The items are disassembled then carefully crated for shipment. A security deposit is required and the customer must pay the freight charges. The items rent for about two weeks at a stretch.

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