If you found a plain in the middle of the woods, what would you think happened? Was it a mysterious accident? Or an old plane cemetery? This one was found in Hillsboro, Oregon by Bruce Campbell, a retired electrical engineer and a very inventive man.
Bruce likes to transform planes destined for scrap metal into ornate works of architecture. He thinks that the planes have a lot of potential outside of their intended use.
Using a large dose of imagination, an old plane and a large piece of land on which to build the most unique house in the world. Keep reading to see how he constructed his bizarre house and take a look inside!
1 – A Grand Vision
Bruce Campbell, 64-year-old retired engineer, always had a creative vision. When he was about 20 years old, he bought a four-hectare piece of land in the forest of Hillsboro, Oregon, for 20,000 EUR, with a very clear vision in his head.
From a young age, Campbell liked to tinker with old objects and materials to create entirely new things.
His plan for the piece of land was to construct a house from a number of cargo vans. It seemed like a wonderful and innovative plan, but it was before he heard talk of a house built by someone else.
2 – A Change Of Plans
About two decades before, Bruce Campbell heard about Joanne Ussery, a hairdresser from Mississippi who bought a Boeing 727 and transformed it into her house.
Her old home had burned down, and she decided to construct a functional house-plane at the edge of a peaceful lake. He had the idea before about the vans, but Campbell found an enormous airplane that seemed much more innovative and interesting to use.
After all, he firmly believed that the planes should be saved from the junkyard. The land wasn’t a problem since he owned about four hectares, but he had to find the money to purchase and transport this type of unconventional vehicle all the way to Oregon.
3 – Buying A Boeing
In 1999, Campbell decided to buy an Olympic Airways Boeing 727 that was sitting in the Athens airport, for the reasonable price of 85,000 EUR. Once the plane was purchased, he had to transport it to the forest in Oregon.
The transport of the plane from Athens, Greece to Oregon proved to be the most difficult task of the entire adventure. The planning and execution of the move, as well as many other aspects of the project, cost him over 105,000 EUR,
Meaning that in total the airplane actually cost 190,000 EUR. But this investment was going to become very profitable for Campbell, even more profitable than he planned.
4 – The Great Move
The industrious Bruce Campbell was impatient to start working on his new project, but he first had to bring the enormous plane to the woods in Oregon.
Several people had to remove the wings of the plane to transport Campbell’s new purchase to the isolated location. They disassembled the wings of the plane so that Campbell could replace them once the plane was parked in the location of his new home.
Campbell thought that his project would only be “a work in progress” forever, but he finally transformed it into something incredible and important after several years of hard work and innovation.
5 – Lessons Learned The Hard Way
In the beginning, Bruce Campbell thought of the plane as an amusing project without a particular purpose, the only thing he knew for sure was that he wanted to recycle the plane.
He strongly believed that the airliners could be transformed into incredible houses instead of being scrapped without thinking. For many years, Campbell worked on the fuselage while he lived in the vans installed nearby. It wasn’t easy for him to live in the forest, but he had a goal and he wasn’t going to give up on it.
The van was always infested with mice, and Campbell was forced to live in the airplane without a building permit. It was at this moment that he started really understanding the space: a place that we can’t imagine having been once a functional aircraft.
6 – When Science And Art Meet
Describing his vision to the Mirror, Campbell declared that “ripping apart a beautiful, gleaming airliner is a tragedy and a waste, and a profound failure of the human imagination.”
He went on to say that some people might consider that an airplane in the forest is a strange and solitary living environment, but for him, it was totally natural.
He believes that the plane possesses a “grace and engineering prowess equal to other structures that humans can live in. He never designed plans for the interior of his Boeing 727, but once he moved into it, everythingbecame clear for him.
“The next time you’re on an airliner, close your eyes for a minute and in
your mind remove all the seats and all the passengers,” he confided in Business Insider explaining his project. “Open your eyes with this vision in your head and then consider the expanse of the living room. It’s really a beautiful environment!”
7 – Show It To The World
Before Bruce Campbell was ready to show his masterpiece to the whole world, he had to wash the outside of the fuselage with the help of a pressure washer.
He told the Daily Mail that although it looked quite easy it took him about four days. The outside of the Boeing 727 had to be washed every two years and he had to use ladders to reach the engines and the top of the plane.
To wash his beloved house could even be very dangerous in case he were to fall or if the water hose swayed unexpectedly. It’s a nerve wracking job but once you see what he’s doing on the plane you’ll understand why it’s worth it.
8 – An Aeronautical Castle
According to Campbell, every plane is destined to become an “aeronautical castle”, perfectly suited for living and for retirement.
If a conventional house is a Chevrolet or Ford for the family of yesteryear, an airliner is the new Tesla or brand new Porsche Carrera”, he said in his
interview with the Daily Mail.
Indeed, like a castle, Campbell supported his enormous Boeing 727 airplane with concrete pillars with his own driveway just outside Hillsboro, Oregon.
If someone visits the region, they’ll immediately notice the work that was necessary to build it and that the plane couldn’t have possibly just landed there miraculously.
9 – What Do We Keep And What Do We Throw Away?
Campbell tried to use all of the equipment already existing on the aircraft, leaving most of the instruments and controls in the cockpit.
However, he had to also change some things by restoring and modifying the inside of the plane so that it would be better suited for everyday life. For him, the new dwelling is a building site undergoing constant change while being a fully functional home.
While he was building his makeshift shower, he tried to restore the elements of the original like the access stairs, the toilets, the LED lights, and some of the original seats. So then, what does Campbell’s house look like now?
10 – Welcome To My Home!
When you enter the Boeing 727 house of Bruce Campbell, you must use the folding stairs from the original aircraft, just like the passengers did when it was still in service and on the tarmac of an airport.
He thought of every detail, like the shoe rack at the front of the plane. This is stocked with plenty of pairs of slippers, ready for the visitors that Campbell welcomes at his home.
He prefers that everyone takes some slippers or socks inside the train to keep it clean, because cleaning such a big house isn’t easy.
11 – The First Rule Of The House
As the transparent floor can get dirty quickly due to the surrounding forest, he always sticks to the rule “socks or slippers” to make sure that the plain is always in perfect shape.
He lives alone, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to keep his house in the best condition. Campbell wears only socks or slippers when moving around his Boeing 727 home. He loves the plexiglass floor, which adds to the unique appearance of the house.
