{"product_id":"boeing-c-97-stratofreighter-historic-fragment","title":"Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter Historic Fragment","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhen it first rose into the sky in the 1940s, the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBoeing C-97 Stratofreighter \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ewas a mechanical colossus—one of the largest aircraft ever forged from metal and imagination. Its 141-foot wings cast shadows like moving architecture, its 38-foot tail towered above hangars like an industrial monolith, and its four R-4360 engines delivered more than 10,000 horsepower of thundering propulsion. With the ability to haul 35,000 pounds of cargo across 4,300 miles without landing, the C-97 redefined the scale of what humans could lift into the upper atmosphere. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eToday, fewer than twenty survive, almost all held in museum collections. Their airframes—once alive with vibration, pressure, and the roar of 28-cylinder engines—now rest silent, their preserved bones representing a vanished species of aviation engineering. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis fragment comes from the aircraft’s elevator trim system, part of the intricate architecture that allowed this massive beast to fly with precision and stability. Forged from 2024-T3 aluminum, the alloy’s copper-rich grain structure flexed and braced against aerodynamic forces that would crumple ordinary metal. At altitude, where the outside world fell to –40°C, this surface carved through thin air, making microscopic adjustments that rippled across a machine weighing more than 60,000 kilograms. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe C-97’s bloodline stretches directly into the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser and echoes forward into modern widebody aircraft. To hold this piece is to hold a shard of that lineage—part of a giant’s anatomy, once alive with the stresses and strains of flight, now preserved as a relic of the era when aviation dared to build leviathans and teach them to dance with the sky.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEach fragment is approximately 1 cm sq. and comes in a protective acrylic capsule. Certificate of authenticity included.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Stemcell Science Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52001548239133,"sku":"BO-5065","price":39.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0059\/0158\/2449\/files\/IMG_7021.jpg?v=1783632191","url":"https:\/\/stemcell.eco\/products\/boeing-c-97-stratofreighter-historic-fragment","provider":"Stemcell Science Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}