The desktop turbine fan is a fascinating and functional piece of tech art! It combines aesthetics with practicality. What began as a passion project to create something unique for my daughter, who used to work as a flight attendant, turned into what you see on these pages. I began with an existing model design and made improvements to emulate some of the most recognized aircraft in skies around the world.

Each model includes:

• LED lighting (wingtip and leading edge)

• rheostat-controlled variable fan speed via thrust lever

• hand-made decals (and paint when necessary)

• familiar brand scheme

It’s these details that I believe bring personality to the design. As much as possible, I print with "silk" plastic for a more polished, less toy-like finish. Each model is unique, and as I create it, I find ways to streamline or improve from the prior design. Most notably, the newest models include vertical stabilizers, wing leading-edge landing lights, and a single toggle switch to simplify the overall piece. Because these are hand-made, there will be slight imperfections and variations between models.

These turbine fans are more about adding a subtle breeze and a cool visual vibe to a workspace rather than being heavy-duty cooling devices. The 3700rpm max speed electric fan is a clever way to keep things quiet and gentle, yet effective. Phone and office space communications won’t be affected. Please don’t expect this to blow your papers off the desk or give you a head-out-the-cockpit amount of wind.

All fans are hand-built and 3D plastic printed, with electronic hardware powered by a low-voltage USB connection to a computer, USB hub, or “wall wart.” There are approximately 27 parts in each model, and it takes 38 hours to print the plastic items. The electronics are carefully soldered and assembled with clean wiring runs and proper heat-shrink-protected connections, and built with care. Depending on the model, I invest as much as 10 hours into the construction of each model (beyond the printing time). These aren’t factory-produced for bulk sale. They are individual works of art, and I create and install plaques once I’ve completed the assembly. They are fragile, so please handle them accordingly.

Do you have an idea for a scheme? Perhaps you want to make your own personal “brand” to live out the dream of your name on a commercial aircraft? Share with me what you’d like to own, and let’s see what can be done!