For one thing, the wings aren’t attached anymore. Sometime next year, the retired Raytheon engineer hopes to open a one-of-a-kind aviation-themed store inside the fuselage of an actual 747 jumbo ...

A black rotary phone still hung on one wall, though “it didn’t work,” Schlinger joked. He left most everything where he found it with the exception of a few old light fixtures he pulled out ...

The pace can be grueling, and the deadlines always loom. “It’s the kind of career where a typical day isn’t really a thing,” said Rex ’15, “but that’s why I like it. There are lots of opportunities ...