More than 100 Spirit AeroSystems employees in Wichita mounted their Harley-Davidsons and other motorcycles this month and rode through the company’s historic Plant 2 collecting toys and cash for the Salvation Army.

“Our employees are really engaged, and they like to support the communities we’re in,” said Spirit spokeswoman Keturah Austin of the December 7 toy drive. It was the second consecutive year for the toy run, which Austin said collected $2,800 and two vanloads of toys that the Salvation Army will distribute to needy children for the holidays. This year’s event drew twice as many participants as last year's, she said. 

Austin said the idea for the toy run came from Vic McMullen, Spirit senior vice president of Wichita and Oklahoma operations. “This year they went all over campus so they were collecting from other buildings, too,” she said. In all, Spirit bikers travelled one mile, including through Plant 2 where Boeing assembled the B-29 bomber during World War II and where Spirit now assembles the Boeing 737 fuselage.

In addition to manufacturing and assembling aerostructures for Boeing and Airbus, Spirit manufactures the nacelles for the Rolls-Royce BR725 engines used on the Gulfstream G650.