Upright wing with doorway is an artistic flight of fancy

But one piece has gone unsold for 20 years — despite its prominent placement in the front yard of Philabaum Glass Studio and Gallery.

"Nobody's snatched it up," jokes Tom Philabaum of the 18-foot-tall sculpture crafted from the tail wing of a C-130 cargo plane.

Made of aluminum, concrete, steel and wood, with a lighted doorway built into the base, the wing sculpture was part of a collection of pieces made from airplane parts salvaged from the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, better known as the Boneyard, Tom said.

It was built by his former classmate at the University of Arizona, Konried Muench. After completing his master of fine arts degree, Muench was looking for a place to showcase the wing.

"He just called me up on a whim and said, 'Hey Philabaum, I've got this extra piece,' " Tom said.

Though it appears incredibly sturdy, Tom said a pair of 25-foot I-beams had to be attached to it and embedded underground to keep the wing from toppling over in high winds. The retrofit was the result of having an official wind-shear study conducted on it, he said.

Tom figured some sort of airport- or aviation-themed museum would have shown interest in buying the sculpture by now.

"I'd sure love to sell it for Konried," he said. "But on the other side of the coin, it's a great landmark for us to have."

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Call Brian J. Pedersen at 573-4224, or send an e-mail to bjp@ azstarnet.com.