a man bought all the spare B-2 windshields and used them in his daughter’s tree house, the USAF had to buy them back

In over 20 years of service and thousands of hours flying transcontinental missions, a B-2 had never needed a windshield replaced. Then a goose was hit, and cracked a windshield

The maintenance squadron placed a request with the Air Force parts depot, who replied back that there were none in stock. 

The spare windshields had been in the warehouse such a long time with no orders for them, that someone thought they belonged to a discontinued air frame. The windshields were sent to the Air Force DRMO [Defense Reutilization Marketing Office] program, which sells surplus items to the public.

‘The maintenance squadron reached out the company that manufactured the windshields to see if they had any spares, or could make a new windshield. The company stated they did not have any spares and the molds were disposed of a long time ago. If the Air Force wanted them to manufacture a new windshield, the company would need to retool an entire site, due to the windshields’ complexity. The cost would be astronomical.

‘In the meantime, the parts depot reached out to DRMO to try and identify anyone who may have purchased a windshield. It turns out, that the windshields were sold as a lot to one individual a few years prior. After much effort, the Air Force was able to locate the man and sent a representative to his residence. The man still had all of the spare windshields in his possession and agreed to sell them back to the Air Force.’

https://theaviationgeekclub.com/did-you-know-a-man-bought-all-the-spare-b-2-windshields-and-used-them-in-his-daughters-tree-house-the-usaf-had-to-buy-them-back-to-replace-a-damaged-spirit-windshield/