PPRuNe Forums - Second-Hand Military Hardware....

Just found this on the BBC web site.......

Fighter plane in online auction

A US company is offering aviation fans the chance to buy a Russian MiG-29 fighter jet online.
The brokerage firm is selling the intact plane - which can reach speeds of up to 1,500mph (2,450kph) - through the eBay auction website.

As of Tuesday the plane, whose actual owner has remained anonymous, had attracted a bid of $99m.

Earlier this week broker Mike Landa put a US Navy Hornet fighter up for sale on the site on behalf of its owner.

Mr Landa, whose firm is based in Washington state, told local papers that Hollywood film studios had also expressed interest in buying the planes.

However, it is not clear whether the Hornet sale was completed.

FBI 'concern'

The F/A-18 Hornet jet once belonged to the navy's Blue Angels aerial demonstration team, Mr Landa told the Associated Press news agency.

[They are] big boys' toys

Broker Mike Landa
Normally, decommissioned US Navy jets are dismantled or leased to museums once they become worn out, but Mr Landa said this one had "slipped through the net" largely intact.

Mr Landa said he received two concerned visitors once the Hornet sale became public knowledge - from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The agents, Mr Landa told his local newspaper The Herald, wanted assurances the jets were authentic but could no longer be used in combat.

The Navy's official position, as quoted by US media reports, is that it is aware of the auctions and is looking into the matter.

Mr Landa did not say how the owner, or owners, acquired the jets he was offering for sale, although he stressed it had been through legal means.

But he is confident they will all fetch impressive sums.

"It's collectors, people with bucks," he said.

"[They are] big boys' toys. A million bucks is a drop in the bucket for many people."

The eBay sale has attracted a bid of $99m so far.