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When Anthony Toth wants to experience the luxury of flying first class, he doesn't need to travel any further than his own Redondo Beach garage.
That's where the 42-year-old aircraft enthusiast built a full-scale replica of a first-class cabin from a Pan Am World Airways 747.
When visitors enter Toth's garage, they are greeted with a timetable listing the flight schedule from Los Angeles that Pan Am would have used in the 1970s. They are then directed inside the cabin, where they can sit in red-and-blue airplane seats, and eat peanuts from a Pan Am embossed package.
Toth has painstakingly re-created a Pan Am aircraft from the 1960s and '70s, complete with recordings of the original in-flight audio.
"Flying back then was incredibly different than it is today," said Toth, global sales director for United Airlines. "It was a huge experience that I looked forward to."
The iconic Pan Am brand represented high-end leisure travel. It was the first American airline to operate permanent international service in the 1930s and first to fly the Boeing 747 in 1966.
But the company faced financial setbacks in the 1970s. Then in 1988, terrorists bombed Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people. The airline went bankrupt in 1991.
It's taken Toth nearly 20 years to scavenge for the parts to construct the cabin, which he started building five years ago. He estimates that he's spent more than $50,000 on airplane memorabilia, more than half of which sits in a storage unit near his home.
Before he bought his two-bedroom Redondo Beach condo in 2007, Toth kept the cabin set up in his living room.
"I actually chose this house because of the garage," he said. "I decided that I wanted to separate my hobby from my real living space, so I hunted
Toth holds occasional meetings in the cabin with his team of United co-workers, calling it the focal point of his home. Guests who visit are offered beverage service.
All told, Toth said he owns enough napkins and trays to provide in-flight service on an airplane every day for the rest of his life.
Longtime friend Julie Fisher said she loves bringing people to visit the plane.
"He prints them up boarding passes and gives them beverages on the plane," said Fisher, who lives in Burbank. "It's a lot of fun."
As a child, Toth flew often with his parents and would document every moment of his trip with photographs and audio recordings. At home in his
"If I fly on a carrier today that I've never flown before, I will absolutely record every single thing on the aircraft from the moment I walk on board to the moment I leave," he said.
At the age of 10, Toth began construction on a 747 model in his parents garage in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, a Cleveland suburb.
His 22 years with United have helped give him access to defunct airplane parts.
After United bought Pan Am's Pacific Division in 1985, Toth was offered the hundreds of galley items that would have been thrown away.
"Every night I drove my little Honda Civic to this warehouse and I packed it to capacity with all the stir sticks and the tray liners," he said.
He also scours airplane graveyards in the Mojave Desert to find reusable parts such as seats and overhead bins.
Toth said he hopes to one day turn his collection into a museum open to the public.
"I think that's his calling in life," Fisher said. "He's so knowledgeable and passionate, he needs to share that with the world."
"Besides," Toth added, "I can't find parking. I would like to have my garage back." natalie.jarvey@dailybreeze.com
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