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The Boeing 727-200 Airplane Home 237

Posted by michael from the your-seat-cushion-is-usable-as-a-flotation-device dept.
Alien54 writes "As seen at AirplaneHomes.com: 'We are offering a B727-200 aircraft for reuse as a home. It is our intention to deliver and set the airplane up on a column and bearing arrangement so it weathervanes. We have tried to define what we consider a "basic" airplane home. This project has all the complexities of a normal home and we will try to deliver and install it to the buyers needs, within the following limitations.' Be sure to also check out the owner's flight manual for more technical details."
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The Boeing 727-200 Airplane Home More

The Boeing 727-200 Airplane Home

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  • Bad business... (Score:5, Funny)

    by jez9999 ( 618189 ) on Sunday November 10, 2002 @05:41PM (#4638922) Homepage Journal
    Boeing's business must have gotten REALLY bad after 9/11...

    • Look at this chart [nasdaq.com] showing Boeing's stock price, and you tell me if their business has gotten bad.

      • Look at this chart [nasdaq.com] showing Boeing's stock price, and you tell me if their business has gotten bad.

        See, that is what I don't understand about investors. What the fuck did Boeing do wrong to cause investors to dump it? Where they worried about a lawsuit naming Boeing as being responsible?

        • See, that is what I don't understand about investors. What the fuck did Boeing do wrong to cause investors to dump it? Where they worried about a lawsuit naming Boeing as being responsible?

          Boeing didn't do anything. After all, is it really Boeing's fault that their planes got hijacked? Then again, what did Adobe do wrong [slashdot.org] to cause investors to freak out?

          Maybe someday, investors will put money into a company because they believe in what the company does and not what the stock price will do.

    • Re:Bad business... (Score:3, Insightful)

      by ces ( 119879 )
      Boeing Commercial may not be doing so hot but I bet their defense business will be doing quite well in the next couple of years.

  • You Just might be a jet set redneck (Score:4, Funny)

    by CatWrangler ( 622292 ) on Sunday November 10, 2002 @05:41PM (#4638923) Journal
    If ya buy one of these things. Are they going to have jet parks in Oklahoma to park these bad boys, put some primer on them, and put bricks under the missing wheels?

  • Join the club! (Score:5, Funny)

    by djkitsch ( 576853 ) on Sunday November 10, 2002 @05:42PM (#4638928)
    You could join the mile-high club in comfort of your own home...

    • Re:Join the club! (Score:5, Funny)

      by Subcarrier ( 262294 ) on Sunday November 10, 2002 @05:58PM (#4639027)
      You could join the mile-high club in comfort of your own home...

      More importantly, you could make your unwelcome visitors wait at the gate for hours after first having been cavity searched by your underpaid but nevertheless enthusiastic security personnel.

  • Lift? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by bpb213 ( 561569 ) <(bpbyrne) (at) (gmail.com)> on Sunday November 10, 2002 @05:43PM (#4638930)
    During high winds, wouldnt the natural lift of the wings put stress on the column holding it down?

    • Re:Lift? (Score:2, Insightful)

      by optikSmoke ( 264261 )
      Do parked airplanes fly?
      • No, but that doesn't matter. Parked airplanes sit on wheels on the ground. This thing is permantenly fixed on a pylon. Any kind of wing lift, regardless of it's enough to make the plane "take off", puts stress on the pylon holding the plane up.

        • Re:Lift? (Score:2, Insightful)

          by haroldK ( 96625 )
          Unless you get enough lift to make it take off, I don't really see how that would put undue stress on the column. Any lift you get would just reduce the downward force the column sees. If I were that column, I wouldn't mind somebody helping me hold it up, would you? The weight of the plane is what puts stress on it until there's enough lift to make it take off (not counting side forces, I'm just talking verical).

    • Watch carefully at the airport. The jets never leave the ground until the nose is pointed up, which is done using the "elevator" (the flap on the tail). No, even in a hurricane, this thing won't fly much better than a car.

    • Good question. Airplanes on the ground don't lift off both because the angle of attack is wrong and that they can't even fly with less than nearly a hundred MPH headwind (the stall speed). (Little prop planes like I used to fly can lift off with much less.)

      However, in high crosswinds or hurricane-force storms I would be very nervous the thing might flip over. I also wonder about the risk of lightning strikes? Presumably a house(-plane) is better grounded than one sitting in the middle of the tarmac. yeah, maybe the strike would just run through the skin, but it's not a feature I would look for in a house.

      I bet a plane-house would be $$$ to heat & AC, too -- they're not all that well insulated. You'd also need forced air to ventilate the thing or it would start to get just a little stuffy.

      • Re:Lift? (Score:2, Informative)

        by GigsVT ( 208848 )
        There won't be high crosswinds, the swivel base lets it weathervane into the wind.
      • I've never been in an airplane that's been hit while it's on the tarmac, but a couple years ago the airplane I was riding in was was hit by lightning in-air. It was a jumbo jet of some sort, cant recall accurately, probably a 747 or something. There was just a REALLY loud bang, a bright flash, and all the cabin lights flickered for a bit. Then the pilot came on the PA and announced that we had been hit by lightning. He also said that the plane was built to take this and that diagnostics showed the plane was still in perfect working order and there was no reason to be afraid. All in all, it was a pretty cool experience.
        • Reassuring pilot -- but suuuuure, what's he going to say? We think we'll be OK but my co-pilot just wet himself and passed out? :)

          Apparently the military spends a couple million US$'s a year repairing storm damages. They may push their luck a little more. And I linked a story elsewhere in this thread about a BA pilot getting burned in the cockpit by lightning.
      • I also wonder about the risk of lightning strikes? Presumably a house(-plane) is better grounded than one sitting in the middle of the tarmac.
        The Faraday effect would render it just as harmless as a plane in the air or a car on the highway. It has nothing to do with "grounding" (no - rubber tires do not have an effect on cars getting hit by lightening!), and everything to do with the external shape of the craft.

    • Re:Lift? (Score:3, Informative)

      by swfranklin ( 578324 )
      wouldnt the natural lift of the wings put stress on the column holding it down?

      I read about these a couple of years ago. They install spoilers on the wings to eliminate any lift.

    • Re:Lift? (Score:2, Funny)

      by k_stamour ( 544142 )
      Yea but only in 330 mile per hour winds... with the flaps down.... but by then you have bigger issues.......

  • Finally, there's a use for these junk planes (Score:4, Interesting)

    by SexyKellyOsbourne ( 606860 ) on Sunday November 10, 2002 @05:43PM (#4638932) Journal
    Out in California, there are mammoth junk yards of nothing but a century of airplanes gone to waste. Many are used for movies, stripped for spare parts, and so forth, but it's good that they're finally being used to provide shelter.

    However, $300,000 is a bit steep, though it's a nice novelty item. Instead of selling them to the eccentric, the planes out in the junk yards of California should be given away converted into homeless shelters and low-income housing using the company's swivel technology.

    • Re:Finally, there's a use for these junk planes (Score:5, Interesting)

      by WhaDaYaKnow ( 563683 ) on Sunday November 10, 2002 @06:25PM (#4639146)
      Out in California, there are mammoth junk yards of nothing but a century of airplanes gone to waste

      Uhm, actually I went searching for these and could only find one in California: Mojave [mojaveairport.com]. True, it's gotten a bit busy after 9-11 but they don't have _that_ many planes. The largest one is in Arizona [virtualtuc...gazine.com].

      However, $300,000 is a bit steep

      The auction says: This is the first of its kind and has been drastically reduced from the normal sales price of $295,000.

      Instead of selling them to the eccentric, the planes out in the junk yards of California should be given away converted into homeless shelters and low-income housing using the company's swivel technology.

      Yeah, I'm sure the owners of those planes would love that idea. FYI: these aircraft still contain parts that can be used, which is the sole purpose of keeping them around. A majority of aircraft however is just mothballed until better times come around. There are times it's not economical to operate them but that doesn't make them worthless. Even if they'd give away the fuselage, who would pay for (a)removing all sellable parts (b)transportation (c)the swivel system (d)the interior??

      In other words, plenty of Karma Whoring but nothing substantial to say.
      • Yeah, I'm sure the owners of those planes would love that idea. FYI: these aircraft still contain parts that can be used, which is the sole purpose of keeping them around. A majority of aircraft however is just mothballed until better times come around. There are times it's not economical to operate them but that doesn't make them worthless. Even if they'd give away the fuselage, who would pay for (a)removing all sellable parts (b)transportation (c)the swivel system (d)the interior??

        You're exactly right -- and not only that, but the planes are actually owned by somebody. What a concept. They're not junk, they're just excess supply.

        My mother does work in equipment leasing, and the bank she works for has quite a few airplanes in use, but they also have quite a few sitting in these mothball fleets, waiting for airlines to expand again. It is actually quite expensive to keep the planes there, as they aren't junk, but must be sealed, etc, and then checked and maintained regularly. In fact, if the banks could collect the insurance money (say, if the whole mothball fleet was destroyed), they'd be much happier. While the idea of using these planes is worth considering, I'll bet that to acquire the planes for use as shelters you're going to have the pay a lot more than $300,000 -- the bank will try to recover it's costs. And stripping the valuble parts out is going to be expensive too...

    • Just think... (Score:4, Funny)

      by AndroidCat ( 229562 ) on Sunday November 10, 2002 @07:38PM (#4639508) Homepage
      You could use it as a guest home on your missle silo estate. (I don't need the karma, find that story yourself. Valuable prizes!)

  • Uggghh... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by EvilStein ( 414640 ) <spam@[ ].net ['pbp' in gap]> on Sunday November 10, 2002 @05:44PM (#4638940)
    This has to be one of the stupidest house ideas I've ever seen. I've seen aircraft being turned into diners, railroad cars being added on to places, but to use an old 727 as a house/windvane? It's hideous! Your neighbors would probably hate you. Birds would fear your house. And god forbid you live in a place that gets hurricanes. Yipes!
    On the other hand, their other auction [silohome.com] is pretty cool.

    • Oh come on... (Score:3, Funny)

      by joto ( 134244 )
      The ad specifically said it was supposed to be safe in a hurricane. And why not? A jet plane is supposed to fly at those speeds anyway. All you would have to do is rotate your house in the right direction (which could easily be automated, or it could simply rotate by itself when the wind blows on it. Sure, it would take a pretty strong socket, but it's not like that is in any way beyond human engineering capacity, all it takes is a lot of concrete and steel.

      As for the neighbours, I would have to agree. You'd have to be pretty rich and eccentric already to not become the hated neighbour by this (i.e. you already are...)

      • BARF-O-MATIC (Score:5, Insightful)

        by MacAndrew ( 463832 ) on Sunday November 10, 2002 @07:04PM (#4639350) Homepage
        Can you imagine sitting in that thing as it tracked a frisky storm with shifting winds? In the right conditions you'd be doing 360's, perhaps with significant centrifugal accelerations at the ends. OK, maybe you'd turn off "free swivel" mode at this point (stripping the gears) as you woke up, screaming, but what if you weren't home to do it?

        BTW, a typical jet is not intended to be operated in a hurricane. The folks who study hurricanes use Orions, I think, and are very respectful. Of course, glued to the ground structural failure is not your main concern -- a wing can fall off for all you care -- but that gimbal, well...

        Your front door would always be in a different place? A 727 is pretty long (~150') and that could mean long walks with the groceries (the 727 does have that unique "air stair" in the tail, a la D.B Cooper [super70s.com]). Maybe you can rotate it on demand.

        Yes, safeties could be designed for most of these things, but no safety is a match for human error or bad luck.

        OK, I've heard of dumber ideas, but this one is a contender. They auctioned off a small square piece of cardboard recently, and it did quite well.
    • Actually, this idea has been proven [attaway.net] for generations.

    • Re:Uggghh... (Score:3, Interesting)

      by karlm ( 158591 )
      If you buy a silo home, make sure you contact the Russians and the Chinese and have them un-target your home. I'm also pretty sure that the "fail-safe" mode for military blast doors is to close and never open again. If something in my house breaks, I want to be able to get out of the basement. Your tastes may differ.
  • There's an "AirPlaneHomes.com"?

  • Sound familiar? (Score:5, Informative)

    by EkiM in De ( 574327 ) on Sunday November 10, 2002 @05:45PM (#4638943)
    The previous 727 as a home story is here [slashdot.org]
    • You are a stud!

      I remember that story like it was yesterday. Went home and tried to talk the wife into living in a fuselage 10 feet wide in an airplane mounted on a pole. She nodded along, knowing the obsession would pass in a few days. It took a bit longer than that, but she was right.

      IMO, missile silo homes are no where near as cool. But I'd rather have an L-1011 or 747.

  • Looks fishy! (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 10, 2002 @05:46PM (#4638955)
    Domain Name: AIRPLANEHOMES.COM
    Registrar of Record: TUCOWS, INC.
    Record last updated on 16-Oct-2002.
    Record expires on 16-Oct-2003.
    Record Created on 16-Oct-2002.

    • Re:Looks fishy! (Score:3, Informative)

      by wadetemp ( 217315 )
      Could you please explain how this is fishy? If I was going to sell something this big, I would register a domain too. And I don't feel particularly subversive when I only register my domains for a year at a time... what if you don't want it in a year?

  • From the folks at Max Power Aerospace, Inc (Score:5, Funny)

    by TheMightyZog ( 228867 ) on Sunday November 10, 2002 @05:47PM (#4638961)
    Homer: "Kids, there's three ways to do things: the right way, the wrong way, and the Max Power way!"

    Bart: "Isn't that the wrong way?"

    Homer: "Yeah, but faster!"

  • Is it just me? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Apreche ( 239272 ) on Sunday November 10, 2002 @05:48PM (#4638963) Homepage Journal
    or is that picture obviously photoshopped?
  • Does it come with a monogrammed shirt? [snpp.com]

  • Err... what the hell? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Wakko Warner ( 324 ) on Sunday November 10, 2002 @05:53PM (#4638994) Homepage Journal
    It is our intention to deliver and set the airplane up on a column and bearing arrangement so it weathervanes.

    Hm, this will be tons o fun in a hurricane or severe storm. Now, not only will you be able to lose power, you'll also get to experience the kind of nausea and vomiting that only being whipped around about a central axis point can provide!

    - A.P.
    • you'll also get to experience the kind of nausea and vomiting that only being whipped around about a central axis point can provide!

      Wheeeeeeee! I'd charge admission! And with the bedrooms at the front or tail, definitely a waterbed! ("Did the earth move for you last night?" "No, but we certainly rotated around my central axis!")

    • And I want to see the rotating hub where stuff like power, water, and sewage is handled. Betcha their engineering is, um, legendary (in the Niven sense of the word).

  • Pay with PayPal! (Score:4, Informative)

    by echucker ( 570962 ) on Sunday November 10, 2002 @05:55PM (#4639008) Homepage
    There are at least two of them for sale on ebay right now - here [ebay.com] and here [ebay.com] Too bad the missle silo home [ebay.com] is already sold.

    Guess I'll have to settle for a double-wide.
  • "In the event of a water landing you may be used as a floation device."

    Had to say it!



  • Too bad these beauties weren't for sale a few years back when various individuals were so freaked out by the Y2K scare that they built undergound shelters in the woods.

    Sure, the airplane reminds me of my old railroad appt. in NYC, but it sure beats the school bus David Koresh had buried in his backyard as a bunker.

  • I got it from a hairdryer. . . (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Betelgeuse ( 35904 ) on Sunday November 10, 2002 @06:01PM (#4639039) Homepage
    Is anyone else entertained by the fact that this is made available by "Max Power Aerospace, Inc."?

  • spin (Score:4, Funny)

    by wkitchen ( 581276 ) on Sunday November 10, 2002 @06:03PM (#4639046)
    Ok, so it's hurricane proof. But imagine what that pivoting base would do for you in a tornado. I hope they don't sell many of these in west Texas.

    • Re:spin (Score:3, Funny)

      by ewhac ( 5844 )

      But imagine what that pivoting base would do for you in a tornado. I hope they don't sell many of these in west Texas.

      Nah, not a problem. Tornadoes are only attracted to mobile home parks.

      Schwab

      • Yah, you say it isn't a problem, until you realize it IS a mobile home. Forgetting for a second that it's a 747...

        -It's a tin can.
        -It has wheels.
        -It's not on them and never will be again.
        -The dates you'll get by living there are nothing to brag about.

        That, my friend, is a mobile home. The twister's acomin' son, and you're next!
      • Think of it as an upgrade to what you can see on missouritrailertrash.com ;)

  • SCAM (Score:5, Informative)

    by upt1me ( 537466 ) on Sunday November 10, 2002 @06:04PM (#4639052) Homepage
    He has never sold anything over $10 on ebay. All of his feedback on ebay is mostly from selling Get Rich products. Now he has several higher price auctions listed. Feedback --> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?MfcISAPIComma nd=ViewItem&item=1779168967 Currently Selling --> http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersO therItems&userid=microsell&completed=0&sort=3&sinc e=-1

  • It could be used as an over-elaborate plot (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Bullard ( 62082 ) on Sunday November 10, 2002 @06:06PM (#4639057) Homepage
    ... to attract cute flightless chix into your shiny nest.

    But that opportunity comes at a heavy price, not even getting into dollar figures: how many of us are used to changing our outlook (and I mean WYSIWYG through your actual windows) according to the wind direction.

    Worst of all, when the going gets tough, you might find that your chick was nothing but a fair-weather friend!

  • I can see it now... (Score:5, Funny)

    by AcquaCow ( 56720 ) <acquacowNO@SPAMhotmail.com> on Sunday November 10, 2002 @06:07PM (#4639060) Homepage
    A couple of high school kids decide to be mischiveous and tie one end of a rope to your plane, the other end to a truck and do some donuts in your yard turning your home into a G-force simulator.

    Whats more frightening than 3 am earthquakes? 3 am Wizzard of Oz flashbacks.

    -- AcquaCow

  • Full Mirror Here: (Score:3, Informative)

    by Mish ( 50810 ) on Sunday November 10, 2002 @06:11PM (#4639079)
    http://doomx.net/airplanehomes.com/

    Enjoy.

  • Steaming pile alert! (Score:4, Funny)

    by kuroth ( 11147 ) on Sunday November 10, 2002 @06:13PM (#4639093)
    The structure spins around, but the entrance is in the tail? If I go out to get the paper on a windy day, will I be stuck chasing my front door around for the following two hours?

    A whole 727, probably up around 100,000 pounds stripped, on a 4' column?

    I think I'll hold out, and make an offer on the second one.

    • If I go out to get the paper on a windy day, will I be stuck chasing my front door around for the following two hours?

      No stupid, you just stand there and wait for it to come back around ;-) (And, back door, technically).

      A whole 727, probably up around 100,000 pounds stripped, on a 4' column?

      Aww, c'mon. It's only like 45,000 lbs stripped, according to the web page. And 4 feet isn't all that puny.
    • Windy hell, what about a snow storm? Shoveling the walk could be interesting!

      Bonus: I bet you don't get many salesmen or god botherers knocking on your door.

  • Does anyone else remember when Homer Simpson changed his name to Max Power? [thesimpsons.com]

    • Does anyone else remember when Homer Simpson changed his name to Max Power?

      Did anyone else notice that the URL given for the owner's manual points to maxpoweraero.com?

      Schwab

  • Its Capabilities (Score:3, Informative)

    by iteratix ( 534157 ) on Sunday November 10, 2002 @06:14PM (#4639097)
    To reply to the inane comments about the airplane whipping around in winds and such -- the webpage explicitly gives three functions the base can do: -Free Rotate (with smoothing of motion) -Motor Rotate (you control its rotation) -Completely locked I'd imagine that being completely locked would prevent said 'rotating like a pinwheel' effect in high winds.
    • Completely locked I'd imagine that being completely locked would prevent said 'rotating like a pinwheel' effect in high winds.

      That'll prevent the airplane motion, but there is nothing powerful enough to make slashdotters understand the real world. Maybe it would spin madly if a tornado parked on it, but this thing is simply a very large weathervane. I like the way they verbed that.

      News flash, kids: weathervanes don't spin madly, and this one will take a lot more wind to move than most. WWJD? JWRTFA!

  • Stripped (Score:4, Funny)

    by Detritus ( 11846 ) on Sunday November 10, 2002 @06:16PM (#4639107) Homepage
    The plane has been stripped of everything that can be sold for spare parts. What's the point of having an airplane if the cockpit has been gutted of the seats and instrument panels?

  • Functioning cockpit? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by LichP ( 549726 ) on Sunday November 10, 2002 @06:20PM (#4639123) Journal

    From the bottom of the ebay auction page:

    A functioning cockpit can be installed, based on the Microsoft Flight Simulator. This is offered by a third party and is in the $10,000 area.

    Um. Says it all really ...

  • What kind of traffic are they trying to draw? (Score:5, Informative)

    by mithras the prophet ( 579978 ) on Sunday November 10, 2002 @06:28PM (#4639162) Homepage Journal

    They have some, umm, sketchy keywords in their meta tag on that site:

    airplane home
    bar restaurant nightclub cabaret
    titty
    727 aircraft house
    girls drinks topless
    hurricane earthquake flood proof
    rotating unique
    mile high club
    resort timeshare
    sports pub
    classroom simulator

    What exactly am I supposed to type into Google to have this show up?

  • Silo Home vs. Airplane Home (Score:3, Interesting)

    by iiioxx ( 610652 ) <iiioxx@gmail.com> on Sunday November 10, 2002 @06:34PM (#4639192)
    A couple people have compared this "airplane home" to the concept of silo homes. The difference between the two is that a silo home has tons of usable space. I would jump at the chance to have a home built on top of an old silo, which effectively serves as an enourmous basement. Forget the paranoid bomb shelter aspect (although, it's only funny until bombs start dropping), think of the square footage. Especially if you could get one cheap a government auction. I once saw a guy on one of those "unusual home" shows on TLC or something, that bought a silo at auction for $40,000.

    One of these airplane homes goes for what - $300,000? - and you're getting 1200 sq feet of living space. I'd pay that for an apartment off Central Park West or something, but for a plane on a stick? Eh, I think not.

  • This reminds me of another kind of house (Score:3, Insightful)

    by jpt.d ( 444929 ) <abfall&rogers,com> on Sunday November 10, 2002 @06:48PM (#4639281)
    On one of the home and garden type channels it was a house that was essentially a 'bird house', but was meant for humans. It was easily 5 to 10 feet off of the ground and it could actually rotate. It was an elevator to get up to the house.

    This would definately help get rid of door to door sales people.

    Q: Would you ever want a house like this?

  • back in 70's (Score:3, Interesting)

    by zogger ( 617870 ) on Sunday November 10, 2002 @06:54PM (#4639309) Homepage Journal
    --was living in florida for a short time frame in the 70's. Some guy there (st pete beach) had a GREAT mod, he took an airplane, took the wings off, added two pontoons to it, had this nice catamaran. It was some flavor large commercial plane, but no idea the make/model. It was just too dang slick.

  • I dunno... (Score:4, Funny)

    by aussiedood ( 577993 ) on Sunday November 10, 2002 @07:12PM (#4639382)
    ...I just don't think this idea will fly.

  • Perfectly safe until... (Score:5, Funny)

    by AndroidCat ( 229562 ) on Sunday November 10, 2002 @07:35PM (#4639491) Homepage
    Some terrorist crashes a building into your plane!
  • 1. You have way too much money and don't know what elese to do with it. (you're an idiot)
    2. You enjoy living in coastal regions where everyones overpriced home gets destroyed every few years due to hurricanes. (you're an idiot)
    3. You like to live in places with no ordinances about how ugly or fucked your neighborhood can be. (you're an idiot)
    4. You've always wanted to live a trailer home but felt like your income made you too exclusive for a trailer park. (you're an idiot)
    5. You enjoy long drives for a loaf of bread. (you're an idiot)

    I can think of a lot of other reasons someone might like this, but they all include being a complete idiot.
    • 3. You like to live in places with no ordinances about how ugly or fucked your neighborhood can be. (you're an idiot)

      Move into John Travolta's neighbourhood -- He has parking for his 707. (He used to live in an area where everyone had executive jets, but a 707 kind of violated the zoning and noise bylaws!)

      Oh sure, you'd still be an idiot, but at least you'd blend in. :^)

  • um... (Score:3, Funny)

    by dacarr ( 562277 ) on Sunday November 10, 2002 @07:50PM (#4639564) Homepage Journal
    The unit will spin in the wind, so if a good Santa Ana wind blows through the canyon, either I'm not going to get back into my home or I'm going to be making gratuitous use of airsick bags. (This assumes of course that somebody in Anaheim Hills doesn't bitch and moan when they see this 727 on a caisson, or FAA doesn't freak out when they see a 727 directly below the landing path for Orange County's John Wayne (SNA) Airport [ocair.com] on what appears to be a hill.)

    For some reason, I can see this somehow being connected with Terry Gilliam [imdb.com]. The concept of a home needing a braking mechanism is just surreal.

  • Hurricane safety? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by chhamilton ( 264664 ) on Sunday November 10, 2002 @07:56PM (#4639600)
    I don't understand how these things would be hurricane proof.

    An airplane like a 727 can handle 500+ mph "winds", because that's how fast it moves through the air when it's flying. However, that is smooth airflow along the longitudinal axis of the aircraft.

    One of these sitting close to the ground would be subject to changing winds from all directions. During a hurricane, as the winds eddied wildy over the ground's surface, it'd be similar to flying into severe turbulence.

    Obviously, being able to weather-vane would have the thing pointed predominantly into the wind, but that pivot point would have to absorb the energy of any lateral and vertical components of the wind striking the aircraft.

    It seems to be a pretty bold claim, with little or no research to back it.
    • I don't understand how these things would be hurricane proof.

      The biggest danger from Hurricanes would be the flying Debris, quite possibly.

      The Aircraft is certified as not being able to fly, due to control serfaces, etc being removed, etc. Check out the Owner's Flight Manual

  • Other uses too... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by babbage ( 61057 ) <cdevers AT cis DOT usouthal DOT edu> on Sunday November 10, 2002 @08:59PM (#4639845) Homepage Journal
    Ya know it's funny, not two weeks ago I was talking to a friend's dad, and he came *this close* to convincing me that we should start the restaraunt chain of the twenty first century. The twentieth century, as older readers will recall, had these things called "trains", and for some reason it was popular to convert old train boxcars into diners. Huzzah! Now we can take those California scrapyards full of B-17s and 747s and turn them into a chain of restaraunts.

    The cool thing would be that all your expense goes into ambience -- go for that classy old Pam Am style, and maybe have the maitre 'd wear a leather jacket. If the food sucks, hey, so what, your customers will be expecting that anyway -- as long as they're being charged less than a hundred bucks for the experience of getting out alive with a full stomach, they'll leave happy.

    Dammit it could work, all you need to do is find places in or near major cities & you could start a chain to rival Hard Rock Cafe or Planet Hollywood. Zoning laws could be an issue, but hey in that case just stay out of New England at first -- I know of placed in Smyrna Tennessee & Florence South Carolina that would be happy to help get you started...

    tee hee :)

    And before anyone goes knocking these people for being crackpots to sell airplane homes (hey, I think it's a fun idea but I know damn well I could never talk my fiance into it :), check out their last auction: 2.1 million dollars to sell an ICBM silo home [ebay.com]. Yow!

  • Who cares about an old B727-200... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Cheese Cracker ( 615402 ) on Sunday November 10, 2002 @09:33PM (#4639989)
    When you can buy one of the space shuttles and convert it to your home. Nothing beats having a huge robotic arm lifting in the groceries...

  • HUH? (Score:2)

    by jonr ( 1130 )
    Gives totally new meaning to rich trailer trash...
    J:

  • The silo home is real, but may not be theirs (Score:3, Informative)

    by Animats ( 122034 ) on Sunday November 10, 2002 @10:49PM (#4640274) Homepage
    That converted missile silo has been on sale for a year or two now. See MissileBases.com [missilebases.com], a real estate broker who deals in old missile silos. This new guy may be a broker. Or not; I don't see a "licensed real estate broker #nnn" anywhere.
  • The WIND SHIFTS...! Oh I can see it now, I'm going down my stairs, headed for work on a blustery day, and then a 40 mph wind takes a 45 to 90 degree shift. Gee, I'm gonna love trying to explain this one to my health insurance agent. "Ya see sir my house is designed to rotate in the wind, and well it was a very windy day...."(health insurance agent tries to keep from snickering out loud while reaching for the record but and waving the rest of the claims agents over). Not to mention that if the area where you live is particularly wind does that mean that essentially everything in the house has to be bolted down or secured in some way?

    Oh ya, can survive a hurricane, but don't trying this in the tornado belt.... And you thought this plane would never fly?

    I'd like to see the disclaimer on this guys contract.

    And the scary thing is... Someone bought one and is actually living in it?!?!

    O'k, guess it takes all kinds. In situations such as these - please refer to my sig.
  • Did you guys know they just took 'gullible' out of the dictionary? No, seriously!

    I mean, come on - can't you tell a photoshopped image when you see one? (and it's a pretty bad one at that).

    And the text just reeks of '16 year old's prank'.
    Excerpt:

    Question: How does the drinking water run up, waste water run down and the electric wires hook to the airplane if it spins around? Won't the wires get twisted?
    Answer: We use a device called a multi-port swivel.

    A 'multi-port swivel'? Sure it's not a 'flux capacitor' you're talking about?

    And the fact that the wings are perfect for parties of 71 people or more, and can be refitted with railings.

    To *anyone* who took this seriously...you need hitting with my 2x4 cluestick.

    -Nano.
  • You end up with a floor plan that is submitted to your local planning and zoning department for approval

    That's kind of funny if you think about it. The zoning department doesn't care that you put a junk air craft on your land, an eye sore for all the neighbors, and a potential hazard in high winds. Yet, they do care about how you divide your living room from your bed room. Maybe they have their priorities mixed up?

  • Other ideas? I snoozed, I lost (Score:5, Interesting)

    by r2ravens ( 22773 ) on Monday November 11, 2002 @05:06AM (#4641461)
    I used to live in Kingman, Az. There is a large airport there that was used during WWII that has long runways. There was also a company at the airport that flew decommissioned planes in and stripped all saleable parts. There were always more than a dozen planes there.

    I had the idea back then that I might be able to buy a stripped fuselage for the scrap value. Never did find out how much that would be, but I had some ideas about how to use one of them as a home. I would like to have been able to buy one of the widebodies. I never thought about putting one up on a post to swivel, but the following are two ideas that I had.

    First, I thought that I might coat the exterior to prevent corrosion, remove all wings and stabalizers and bury it. Not completely, but about 80 - 90%, just enough so that I could put skylights along the length of the top. Using an L-1011 for example (interior dimensions of 18' x 135'), would give over 2400 square feet of living area not counting any of the below-deck stuff like luggage, galley, or storage areas.

    It would already have bathroom facilities (well, toilet and sink anyway, you'd have to add a full bath somewhere) and a heating/cooling system. The 18' width would also give more options for the layout of rooms and other divided areas. This would be earth-sheltered and since (I believe) these are well insulated, it would not require much heating and cooling.

    Entry would be through a stairwell down to any entry door one would choose, or, with the right lot, maybe the terrain would provide for a ground level entry with the rest of the structure earth-sheltered. I figured that it could be done for not much more than a conventional home.

    The second idea was a little more involved but would make for a real artistic curiosity. Purchase the aircraft including wings and all stabalizers. Purchase a piece of land which is a hillside, preferably which breaks on two sides. Land of this type is somewhat less desirable than a flat piece which is easy to build on so it would likely be cheaper. This might be hard to visualize, but I'm no artist, so the concept is only in my head. This will all make sense at the end of the description.

    Make most of the living space of your home inside the hill, underground. Hollow out living areas, make sure it is supported just like a horizontal shaft mine - think NORAD but without the bomb shelter capacity (unless you've got a lot of money burning a hole in your pocket.)

    The primary shaft would be on both sides of the hillside and then another perpendicular to the first shaft. Cut loose the front section of the fuselage with the cockpit and put it in one end. Cut loose the tail with the vertical and horizontal stabalizers and put in the other end. Have a doorway out of the perpedicular shaft and anchor one of the wings (appropriate one) at the door and supported horizontally out into the air away from the hillside.

    The end result is to have it appear that the entire aircraft is imbedded in the hillside. The wing is a patio, the cockpit could be a breakfast nook and the tail could house the bathrooms and heating/cooling equipment, etc. If the terrain were right, you could even have a pool partially shaded from the sun under the wing.

    I had the idea back in a time when the feds weren't under republican control, so I figured I might even be able to get a National Endowment for the Arts grant or maybe even a National Science Foundation grant to defray some of the cost, as this would be much more costly than the first option.

    Well, /. is about sharing ideas, so if you've got the resources, have at it. Just be sure to post some pics and an URL. If someone actually does this I sure would like to see it - either option.

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