US man opens up three abandoned storage units and finds they're packed with aviation treasures

Aviation YouTuber Jimmys World found three abandoned storage units filled with a lifelong collection of useful and potentially valuable aviation components.

There are a couple of potential issues, though.

First, aviation is strictly regulated, so whether he can or can’t use those components remain to be seen.

The second thing is a lot more specific, and it has to do with a specific jet he’s trying to fix.

These abandoned storage units were a treasure trove

All three units contained a mix of old and new equipment of all kinds.

In the first unit, he found a large wooden propeller, jacks, tires, control cables, and various interior components like leather and fire extinguishers.

The second unit featured more specialized jet components such as starter generators, air conditioning system parts, refrigerant recovery equipment, and various manuals and hardware.

The third one was a little different.

It looked more like a workshop then a warehouse, mostly because they found some useful tools to clean parts, oxygen bottles, maintenance manuals, and so on.

Now comes the fun (and hard) part

This looks great on paper, but it is actually difficult to determine the exact percentage of items that are useful or sellable because much of the collection is still packed away in boxes or buried deep within the units.

Also, aviation is a heavily regulated industry, which limits what you can and can’t do legally.

Fixing old planes is a very complicated puzzle with so many pieces, and there’s a potentially significant gap between reality and bureaucracy.

As in, you could theoretically rebuild a 1920s plane from scratch using nothing but strings, duct tape and a hammer.

But it’s all to no avail unless aviation authorities deem it airworthy.

Some things will certainly be useful – the starter generators, thrust reverser test sets, machines for pneumatic and altitude testing.

The main challenge for him will be to find something in these abandoned storage units he actually use for his own jet, which will probably be quite tough considering how ‘unusual’ his jet is.

The reason this guy may look familiar

This YouTuber built his channel around one plane in particular: Elvis Presley’s jet.

A while back, Elvis Presley’s jet resurfaced at auction after decades.

It was in very poor condition, and Jimmy ended up spending a significant amount of time, energy, and money turning it into an RV.

He decided to turn it into an RV because the jet was doomed, with zero chances of ever being airworthy again.

And the problem wasn’t just financial but legal.

Because of how old it was, even if he had somehow managed to make it airworthy from a practical standpoint, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) would never ever greenlight it.

Pity.

That’s the main reason why he was interested in these three units.

Because even though his jet is now technically an RV, most of the structure still requires components built for aircraft.

Including the A/C, which apparently isn’t working anymore.

And the YouTuber is based in South Florida, so we can see how lack of A/C could be a bit of a problem, even in the winter.