“It’s a bird that was meant to fly,” 62-year-old Bruce Campbell said about his unique home.
The self-confessed nerd from Oregon, USA, has spent the last 10 years converting a 727-200 passenger jet into his dream home, CNN reported.
He is not the first to think of turning a airplane into living space. A 747 jumbo jet in Stockholm was converted into a hostel and in Costa Rica, there is the Boeing 707 plane hotel. However, what distinguishes Campbell’s work is that he is doing it all by himself.
In the CNN video report, the visibly excited Campbell shows off his plane home with pride, saying “it is exhilarating to think about being here”.
The Building Services & Environmental Engineer has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to make the plane livable. He bought the old 727-200 plane for $100,000 and spent at least another $100,000 on logistics costs like having it moved from the airport to his home, and temporarily removing the wings and tail, CNN reported.
He is not quite finished yet. As he is the only one working on the project, it is still a work in progress. He could have purchased one of the most expensive homes in Oregon for the amount he’s spent on his plane home, but Campbell says wood is just terrible building material.
On his site he calls it “termite and microbe chow”, “firewood”, “relatively weak”, and says “it’s secured with low tech fasteners using low tech techniques”.
He also says rectangular designs are structurally inferior which can’t withstand severe winds and earthquakes, are frequently broken into, kill people when they explode into flames, are leaky and degrade quickly.
On the other hand, airplanes are “well designed, high tech, aerospace quality sealed pressure canisters that can withstand 575 mph winds and seven G acceleration forces with ease, could last for centuries (with effective corrosion control), are highly fire resistant, and provide superior security. They’re among the finest structures that mankind has ever built.”
He managed to get one of the plane’s three toilets working, got the electricity working inside the jet and even installed a temporary shower right in the middle of the main cabin. It’s not very private, but considering he lives in the middle of the woods, it doesn’t bother him much.
Like most other airplane enthusiasts, Bruce Campbell’s special place inside his unique home is the cockpit, which “has a certain magic”, but he’s also very fond of the 727′s wings, which make wonderful decks. Although he doesn’t have a TV or radio, Bruce has an iPod Touch to keep him company as he tinkers on his dream home.
CNN
