So I was at a junk store this weekend and stumbled upon what appears to be a Soviet cold war airplane seat of some kind. Of course I snatched it up for cheap but....Who can tell me anything about this and how it found its way to an OT junk store? Weird right?
Top translates to "Yak-52 Chair"; the Yakovlev Yak-52 is a Russian trainer and aerobatic aircraft dating from the 1970s, still in production - a bunch were imported here after the fall of the Soviet Union. So not exactly kosher for a traditional hot rod, but looks the part.
LOL who on here remembers Lenny Bruce aside from you and me. Dylan wrote a song about him. [Verse 1] Lenny Bruce is dead but his ghost lives on and on Never did get any Golden Globe award, never made it to Synanon He was an outlaw, that’s for sure More of an outlaw than you ever were Lenny Bruce is gone but his spirit’s livin’ on and on [Verse 2] Maybe he had some problems, maybe some things that he couldn’t work out But he sure was funny and he sure told the truth and he knew what he was talkin’ about Never robbed any churches nor cut off any babies’ heads He just took the folks in high places and he shined a light in their beds He’s on some other shore, he didn’t wanna live anymore [Verse 3] Lenny Bruce is dead but he didn’t commit any crime He just had the insight to rip off the lid before its time I rode with him in a taxi once Only for a mile and a half, seemed like it took a couple of months Lenny Bruce moved on and like the ones that killed him, gone [Verse 4] They said that he was sick ’cause he didn’t play by the rules He just showed the wise men of his day to be nothing more than fools They stamped him and they labeled him like they do with pants and shirts He fought a war on a battlefield where every victory hurts Lenny Bruce was bad, he was the brother that you never had Note: these verses are a little off from Dylan's delivery. He is the reason that I know that the meaning of VIP is: people who think that their shit don't stink but their farts always give them away. Back to the seat, its cool who cares when it was made.
LOL. That's great. I'll tell you what. I'll have my wife sit in it ... If it's a nice fit... that will confirm Lenny Bruce's theory!!
Not to further derail the post but by todays standards Lenny Bruce was tame. I saw stuff on "Last Comic Standing" the other night that would have gotten Lenny arrested (again).
Lenny Bruce had it in spades. if he were an Imam I would be wearing a rag today. That seat was designed to have a cushion in the bottom ( see the tray shape) and will cut the circulation off without one. Even if I was only going 1320 feet at a stretch I would want a nice little leather rolled and pleated cushion in it.
While stationed at LSA Anaconda/Balad AFB, Iraq, I view a Russian bi-plane (no longer in use), Antonov AN-2, single engine, cargo plane, with the same seat as yours, in fact I took one of the seats, but could not bring it back (so much for the spoil's of war). The Russians manufactured this aircraft since 1946.
Am I reading the date correctly? The tag says "21-11-1986", which would translate (I think) into "November 11, 1986". I thought the Cold War was over by that point and the "Soviet Union" a memory (recent, but still a memory.)
Actually not to be political but it is still going on, it hasn't been that long ago that we caught a family of Russian spies living in back east. Hell the Civil War is still going on. But that really has no bearing on the seat its politics and while I have been known to cross the line we do try to avoid politics. One of the local fellas found a B-52 Bomber seat with all the brackets still installed a couple of years ago for sale in Europe of all places. He has it in his possession and it cost him more to ship it then he paid for it. Military bits and pieces get around for sure.
The "cushion" for the seat is your parachute, and as I said, an American 'chute probably doesn't fit right.
Thanks for all of the replies fellas. I always appreciate the humor and insight we have here on the message board. Sure makes a long day go by a little faster. Cheers.
Always appreciate the literary reference. I like the seat and Lenny Bruce. Lenny did junk one too many times and toppled off a seat with a needle still in his arm... Thanks Porknbeaner.... like a breath of fresh air...