Lindon auto detailer granted opportunity to help preserve historic United States aircraft
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- Britt Stokes, owner of Stokes Auto Spa in Lindon, is pictured Tuesday, July 8, 2025, at the the Museum of Flight in Seattle, where he is helping to preserve historic United States aircraft.
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- Britt Stokes, owner of Stokes Auto Spa in Lindon, is pictured performing an exterior detail task on an airplane Tuesday, July 8, 2025, at the the Museum of Flight in Seattle, as part of a project to preserve historic United States aircraft.
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- Britt Stokes, owner of Stokes Auto Spa in Lindon, is pictured performing an exterior detail task on an airplane Tuesday, July 8, 2025, at the the Museum of Flight in Seattle, as part of a project to preserve historic United States aircraft.
A Utah County business owner is living out his longtime dream of helping preserve one of the nation’s most historic aircraft: the original Air Force One.
Britt Stokes, owner of Stokes Auto Spa in Lindon, was chosen earlier this year, along with more than 30 other auto detailers across the nation, as members of the 2025 Air Force One Detailing Team.
The exclusinve honor affords up-and-coming and experienced detailers around the world the chance to put their skills in motion as a way to give back to the country.
It’s also an opportunity that marks the culmination of Stokes’ 10 years of detailing experience.
Stokes said his journey in the business began after he graduated high school. He worked at several car dealerships including the Doug Smith company in American Fork as a lot technician, ensuring cars were clean and taken care of for customers.
Stokes enjoyed preserving vehicles, and he eventually went on to open his own detailing business six years ago.
He said his love for detailing goes beyond the variety of cars and trucks he services; he also cherishes the connection with different people.
“You know, just interacting with people and learning their stories,” Stokes said in a phone call with the Daily Herald on Tuesday from Seattle, where the Air Force One detailing project is underway. “I think that’s the most fulfilling part, just being able to do a service that is beneficial for people.”
Stokes said he first learned about the Air Force One Detailing Team four years ago while he was looking for ways to enhance his skillset as a detailer and stumbled across the detailing success program.
“That piqued my interest, so I signed up for the training,” he said. “It was a five-day advanced training, so about a week’s worth of training. And after you go through the five-day training, then you’re invited to join what they call the detail mafia.”
The detail mafia group is made up of nearly 200 entrepreneurs and business professionals who work in collaboration to better each other’s businesses and their own.
Stokes said that after two years in the group, he was able to submit an application to join the Air Force One Detailing Team, which goes to a board of advisors that chooses which people each year will partake in the project.
“They want to see that you are involved in the group, you’re giving back to the detailing industry (and) you’re involved in your communities,” he explained.
Stokes said he was overcome with humility and gratitude when the call came in that he had been chosen to join the 2025 project.
“I mean, it’s not every day you’re going to work on a jet that served as Air Force One, right?” he said. “So just being able to put your hands on it, which is an experience that a lot of people don’t get, it’s just humbling.”
The full project, led by Renny Doyle, is taking place through Sunday at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, where the airplanes are housed as part of a fleet of collections.
This year is the 22nd that the Air Force One Detailing Team has helped preserve pieces of aviation history.
Selected detailers participate on a volunteer basis and must cover their own costs associated with the trip.
Stokes said he along with other detailers are working to keep a total of six aircraft in pristine condition throughout the duration of the trip. Among those is the iconic Boeing 707-153 known as SAM (Special Air Missions) 970. The 66-year-old jet-powered presidential aircraft served Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon and other dignitaries.
It also carried then-Vice President Johnson to Dallas after Kennedy’s assassination.
Stokes said what he’s enjoyed most about the project so far has been the camaraderie between each member of the team.
“There’s a lot of new friendships being made,” he said, “I think that’s one of the cool parts about this project. You might know detailers from around the nation who are invited a little bit through social media, through a friend here or through a friend there. But getting to be able to work with them side by side, to network with and access their knowledge on business, on life, on how the project runs, I think that’s really cool.”
Reality settled in on Tuesday as Stokes was able to polish one of the engines on the Air Force One aircraft.
Once the project is completed, he believes the experience will translate into a deeper appreciation for history, unity and collaboration.
“Being able to come together from all communities, all different walks of life, to be able to fulfill a goal together — I think that’s a lesson that we can not only learn in our local community, but (also) on a national level,” Stokes said.
