A Grounded Option for the Jet-Setting Homebody

Over the course of 10 years, [Bruce Campbell] has built himself a sleek pad out of a Boeing 727-200 in the middle of the picturesque Oregon countryside.

As you’d expect, there are a number of hurdles to setting up a freaking airplane as one’s home in the woods. Foremost among them, [Campbell] paid $100,000 for the aircraft, and a further $100,000 for transportation and installation costs to get it out to his tract of land — that’s a stiff upfront when compared to a down payment on a house and a mortgage. However, [Campbell] asserts that airplanes approaching retirement come up for sale with reasonable frequency, so it’s possible to find something at a lower price considering the cost of dismantling an airframe often compares to the value of the recovered materials.

Once acquired and transported, [Campbell] connected the utilities through the airplane’s existing systems, as well going about modifying the interior to suit his needs — the transparent floor panels are a nice touch! He has a primitive but functional shower, the two lavatories continue to function as intended, sleeping, dining and living quarters, and a deck in the form of the plane’s wing.

Why undertake such a project for one’s home? [Campbell] cites that the aircraft’s durable construction, fire resistance, and the security of a retractable entrance as compelling reasons, adding that each aircraft is a feat of engineering and thus a worthy abode. There’s also plenty of room for an avowed nerd to live and tinker — doubly so for one who is mindful of green initiatives, and recycling or re-purposing materiel slated for the scrapyard. Additionally, the cockpit still has plenty of its equipment and paneling intact, so if you wanted you could probably turn it into the most realistic flight simulator this side of the Air Force or NASA.

Here’s Campbell’s how-to if you’re in the market for a new home that’s a real fixer-upper and can be customized to your liking.

[via Anonymous and Great Big Story]

Filed under: green hacks, home hacks, transportation hacks