The Boeing 727-200 Airplane Home

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."

Comments

I bid $1

[Istealmymusic]

Going once...

Re:I bid $1

[karnal]

Reserve not yet met...

Re:I bid $1

[jgeraert]

Be carefull what you wish for. Maybe
tomorrow someone with a huge truck is
delivering your plane-home

Bad business...

[jez9999]

Boeing's business must have gotten REALLY bad after 9/11...

Re:Bad business...

[mhesseltine]

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

Re:Bad business...

[Anonymous Coward]

I think they're just trying to cash in on 9/11. Come on, how a terrorist can BUY the plane! Who needs to hijack it!

Re:Bad business...

[tzanger]

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?

Re:Bad business...

[mhesseltine]

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 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...

[mr. methane]

I imagine the drop had more to do with the assumption that fewer aircraft will be purchased due to a slump in the air travel business.

Re:Bad business...

[inode_buddha]

I recall an article in the Sept. 2002 issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology (hard copy) which possibly explains a lot about the situation.

It seems that all the major manufacturers (including Boeing) have gotten into the habit of carrying the financing themselves, at favorable rates especially for smaller customers such as start-ups and developing nations. Problem is, they often carry greater than 90% of the debt load, and when you're dealing in hundreds of millions USD, it's only going to take a couple of deadbeats to give you some very real problems. Investors are fully aware of all this, I'm sure. The situation applies across a wide range of goods and services, since Boeing is an integrated one-stop shop like IBM is to the computer world.

Re:Bad business...

[ces]

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.

Re:Bad business...

[babbage]

You mean now that Lockheed is building most or all of the JSF variants? No, Boeing is still huge, but they're getting serious competition, and have had major upsets by Airbus on the commercial side & Lockheed on the commercial side. The war won't necessarily be a windfall for Boeing...

Re:Bad business...

[jhylkema]

It's quite simple. It's called the "Greater Fool Theory."

The stock market is largely based on smoke and mirrors. When you buy a stock, you are exchanging real money for a piece of paper that someone has convinced you is worth more than what you paid. And you make money by selling it to somebody else, i.e., a Greater Fool, who thinks the same piece of paper is worth more than what you paid for it. And if you don't think there are any Greater Fools out there, Lesser Fools than yourself will gladly take it off your hands -- for less than what you, the Greater Fool, paid. And so it goes and so it goes.

The dot-com craze of the late 1990s is a perfect illustration. Take amazon.com for example. Seemingly intelligent people foolishly exchanged real money for pieces of paper giving them part ownership of Jeff Bezos' "K-Mart of the Web" money-losing-to-this-very-day mail order empire. Depending on who you ask, these pieces of paper cost $400 a pop at one point, literally more than their weight in pure gold. They did so thinking, hoping, believing, praying that other people would agree that a piece of paper with Jeff Bezos' smirking mug on it was worth more than its weight in gold. In so doing, these people would give them more for the same piece of paper than they paid. For most people, the game is up. Most people have caught on that his funny money isn't worth the paper it's printed on, much less its weight in gold. But, a few stalwart Fools still believe that if Jeff sells a dollar for eighty cents long enough (or gives away $11 every time somebody orders,) he'll make a ton of money on volume eventually.

You Just might be a jet set redneck

[CatWrangler]

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?

Re:You Just might be a jet set redneck

[Anonymous Coward]

gotta have a couple of broken sesnas in the front yard, with a few mangy stewardesses lying out on the front porch.

Re:You Just might be a jet set redneck

[Anonymous Coward]

gotta have a couple of broken sesnas in the front yard, with a few mangy stewardesses lying out on the front porch.

oh, you mean a cessna? and by the way, they're not called stewardesses anymore. They're called flight attendants.

Re:You Just might be a jet set redneck

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm going to submit this to my Home Owners Association as a replacement for my current home. They won't approve it (heck, I don't even want it!) but then they might let me put up an antenna instead.

Re:You Just might be a jet set redneck

[Tekneek211]

Of course in the US an HOA cannot legally prevent you from putting up an antenna for TV reception. You might be talking about some other kind of antenna, perhaps.

Re:You Just might be a jet set redneck

[SomeGuyFromCA]

> and by the way, they're not called stewardesses anymore. They're called flight attendants.

"Know what I call them? The lady on the plane!" -- George Carlin

Join the club!

[djkitsch]

You could join the mile-high club in comfort of your own home...

Re:Join the club!

[Subcarrier]

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.

Re:Join the club!

[Dolphinzilla]

only if you install your airplane house in Denver

Lift?

[bpb213]

During high winds, wouldnt the natural lift of the wings put stress on the column holding it down?

Re:Lift?

[optikSmoke]

Do parked airplanes fly?

Re:Lift?

[leeward]

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.

Re:Lift?

[wadetemp]

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?

[MacAndrew]

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?

[MConlon]

That doesn't mean they aren't flying beforehand.

MJC

Re:Lift?

[GigsVT]

There won't be high crosswinds, the swivel base lets it weathervane into the wind.

Re:Lift?

[lommer]

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.

Re:Lift?

[Blkdeath]

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?

[haroldK]

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).

Re:Lift?

[swfranklin]

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?

[Sparr0]

Not all that well insulated? I dont remember seeing too many heaters in the last plane I flew in, and I am pretty sure the air outside at 30000 ft was damn cold.

Re:Lift?

[Maxwell'sSilverLART]

Not all that well insulated? I dont remember seeing too many heaters in the last plane I flew in, and I am pretty sure the air outside at 30000 ft was damn cold.

Actually, you probably did see the heaters. They were hanging out there on the wings; they're called "engines." The air for the pressurization comes from the "bleed air" from the compressors in the engines. Bleed air is extremely hot; in the King Air I fly, the temperature is typically 700 degrees Celsius (redline on that airplane is 725, IIRC, but we run it at 700). Even passed through intercoolers, that air is still very hot. We have to run the air conditioning in that airplane nearly coonstantly to keep the temperature even remotely comfortable. So yes, the air is heated.

As to the insulation, well, usually the plastic overlay on the wall feels warm, but that's because that plastic always feels warm. If you feel the metal wall behind it, you'll notice that it is very cold at altitude, often producing frost; on the ground, it can get quite warm if the airplane is left in the sun, or cold, if the ambient temperature is low. Short answer is, little to no insulation. Considering that the environmental systems are very good, insulation is unnecessary, and adds weight, which is the bane of aircraft designers.

Re:Lift?

[k_stamour]

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

Re:Lift?

[Anonymous Coward]

No, the Faraday effect is the phenomenon of magnetically induced circular birefringence. You are thinking of a Faraday cage, not an effect.

Re:Lift?

[AndroidCat]

no - rubber tires do not have an effect on cars getting hit by lightening!

If a car got hit by "lightening", that would certainly give it lift! :^P

Re:Lift?

[Sparr0]

If the engines are producing that much heat and you have to run the air conditioning to get the temperature back down, even though the outside temperature is much lower than cabin temperature, how is that not evidence of a well insulated cabin?

Re:Lift?

[Anonymous Coward]

"If I were that column"

Lay down the crack pipe!

Re:Lift?

[petecarlson]

If the engines are producing that much heat and you have to run the air conditioning to get the temperature back down, even though the outside temperature is much lower than cabin temperature, how is that not evidence of a well insulated cabin?


That would be evidence of an insulated cabin but not proof of a well insulated cabin. If you had an infinite quanity of heat, any insulation at all would cause the aircraft to become infinitly hot.

Re:Lift?

[jamesjw]

Obligatory 2.4 "jigga"-watts of electricity lark.. :)

Re:Lift?

[Anonymous Coward]

Metal aircraft protect the passengers quite well from lightning strikes. The current passes through the exterior skin to an exit point and continues to the nearest ground (which it was headed to in the first place). Presumably, the pylon would be the path in this case, and probably a much better one than provided by the typical house.

Lightning damage by military aircraft is due to a high composition of composites. If lightning strikes a composite panel it may not be able to dissipate the energy fast enough (the resins are insulators after all...) and the panel can explode.

Metal mesh or wire is often embedded in composite panels during manufacture to provide a path for the electricity during a lightning strike. But other features of the design -- stealth, for instance -- might preclude using metal in the panels. It's a trade off that soldiers must make sometimes. But in civilian applications, any critical composite fairing or structural panel will have lightning strikes taken into account.

I've got a B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering and did structural design for McDonnel Douglas on the C-17, F-15, F-18 before Boeing bought the firm.

Re:Lift?

[conway]

If you would actually visit the site, you would notice that they say that they remove lift surfaces from the wings and tail excatly for this reason.

Re:Lift?

[fredbox]

The wind would have to be 120mph (or whatever the stall speed of a B727 is, I can't be bothered to check). before it would matter. At that wind speed you'd have larger problems, i.e. hoping your neighbors houses, cars, children etc. aren't crashing into you as they fly by.

Re:Lift?

[AlecC]

If you read the website, they carefully alter the wing so it won't produce any lift - remove leading edge slats etc.

Re:Lift?

[AlecC]

Aircraft get hit by lightning strikes seversal times a year. As the man said, they ar built to take it. I heard quite a few years ago of an aircraft losing power on one engine after a lighting strike, but this is the exception, not the rule.

Re:Lift?

[Anonymous Coward]

The wings are prepared so that they no longer provide lift.

Don Peters
airplanehomes.com

Finally, there's a use for these junk planes

[SexyKellyOsbourne]

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

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

Why the fuck does SexyKellyOsbourne get modded up all the time? Read his/her journal. I'm surprised SKO didn't say that we should shoot all of the homeless people into space.

Re:Finally, there's a use for these junk planes

[bootprom]

I hear you. It is also interesting that sexyKO only posts on the 11th of each month......

Re:Finally, there's a use for these junk planes

[WhaDaYaKnow]

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. True, it's gotten a bit busy after 9-11 but they don't have _that_ many planes. The largest one is in Arizona.

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.

Re:Finally, there's a use for these junk planes

[certron]

http://modern-ruins.com/ruins/boneyard/ or http://www.dm.af.mil/tours.htm (In AZ, though)

looks a sight better than http://postconflict.unep.ch/photos/afghanistan/ass essment/team3/kabul_-_airplane_graveyard_near_airp ort_(sep_2002_-_cs).html

Oh well, I kinda knew I wouldn't be the first to post about it. You do realize that posts like that are why you have relatively good karma, yes? :-)

Re:Finally, there's a use for these junk planes

[Anonymous Coward]

dumbass, those are all this month. last 3 days even

Re:Finally, there's a use for these junk planes

[Anonymous Coward]

SexyKellyOsbourne, there are message(s) for you:

Fuck off

Die

Thank you for using (AC)MessengingService. Motto: From Troll to Troll

Re:Finally, there's a use for these junk planes

[Anonymous Coward]

There is a WHOLE lota scrap metal that is worth some serious money in a plane. That is probably a good chunk of the costs and why they will never be used ofr your nancy boy idea.

Re:Finally, there's a use for these junk planes

[doorbot.com]

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...

Re:Finally, there's a use for these junk planes

[Anonymous Coward]

kharma whoring?

ooops...

http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=44662&cid=46 36 104

Re:Finally, there's a use for these junk planes

[Anonymous Coward]

This is a troll. Please mod down - no facts whatsoever. Refer to previous posts and journal for more information.

Re:Finally, there's a use for these junk planes

[Anonymous Coward]

Because he's a sexy bitch! Yeah, baby!

Re:Finally, there's a use for these junk planes

[alanak]

I was flying into Roswell, NM this summer occasionally. Damn airport is huge. Basically used as a junkyard, since it is dry and there are large amounts concrete. Since it used to be a old air force base, it has a really long runway - somewhere in the top 5 longest in the US. It's funny seeing all these large 747's in a town of 50,000 people.

Re:Finally, there's a use for these junk planes

[IPFreely]

It's not the plane that costs money, its the delivery, installation, plumbing, electricity, safety inspections, and whatever else goes into getting a building permit.

If all you do is drop it and open the door, it's not much of a home.

Re:Finally, there's a use for these junk planes

[jargoone]

I don't think the junkyards are referring to what you're talking about. They're more likely referring to graveyards as I'm told they're called. You can find some cool pictures if you google the term "airplane graveyard".

Uggghh...

[EvilStein]

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 is pretty cool.

Re:Uggghh...

[dattaway]

Actually, this idea has been proven for generations.

Re:Uggghh...

[karlm]

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.

Re:Uggghh...

[ModernGeek]

I saw a thing on the discovery channel, and it was an old lady living in an airplane, she seemed to like it, and it looked fairly normal on the inside with no seats and walls. On another subject, that silo home looks cool are roomy, and you would never have to worry about heating/cooling, since underground stays perfect temp, if you were at the bottom level, would you be immune to nuclear warefare?

Re:Uggghh...

[Anonymous Coward]

I guess cardboard boxes will now qualify as shabby-chic.

The really scary fact...

[Sivar]

There's an "AirPlaneHomes.com"?

Re:The really scary fact...

[Anonymous Coward]

3ffbd518

Re:The really scary fact...

[Anonymous Coward]

Yea, but what about '6?

Sound familiar?

[EkiM in De]

The previous 727 as a home story is here

Re:Sound familiar?

[Anonymous Coward]

That was 3 years ago, give them a break. :)

Re:Sound familiar?

[sv0f]

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.

Big Deal...

[Anonymous Coward]

Just move the aerilons down.

I remember a story...

[garcia]

there was a post about a single guy that was creating the perfect geek home inside a plane.

If it was on /., I am too lazy on a Sunday afternoon to search for it, if it was somewhere else, see above ;)

Neat stuff. Too bad it isn't like Air Force One. Living in the plane while it is flying is FAR cooler :)

Re:I remember a story...

[howlingmoki]

Hey, wire one with CAT5, install a huge server and mount it on an articulated pivot. Ultimate flight simulator!

Looks fishy!

[Anonymous Coward]

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!

[Anonymous Coward]

You can register domain names through tucows. Its not a publicity stunt on their behalf. They have to make money somehow. :)

Re:Looks fishy!

[PaschalNee]

I think the original post was talking about the dates and not the registrar as in 'looks fishy that the domain was created a couple of weeks ago'

Re:Looks fishy!

[wadetemp]

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?

Re:Looks fishy!

[BearCubSF]

Yes, but the HTML in the eBay posting has a different URL, http://maxpoweraero.com/homes/owner'sflightmanual. html. It's entirely conceivable that they decided to get the domain -after- putting it on eBay, in order to help with publicity.

Of course, it's also possible it's one big joke. Some of the images are obvious fakes (like the one purporting to show an airplane installed on a column.)

From the folks at Max Power Aerospace, Inc

[TheMightyZog]

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!"

Re:From the folks at Max Power Aerospace, Inc

[Raffi Spock]

At which point he walks into a cactus...

Is it just me?

[Apreche]

or is that picture obviously photoshopped?

Re:Is it just me?

[DJPenguin]

No... they REALLY did mount a jet plane on a metal column. Of course it's bloody photoshopped :)

Re:Is it just me?

[AndroidCat]

Oh joy, who want to live in the prototype?

Hmmmmm

[Richard_at_work]

Fixed to the ground eh? Good, no chance they can be flown into buildings.....

Ill have to find some other way to be classed as a terrorist then. Ah i know . That should do it.

Re:Hmmmmm

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, you can try flying a building into it; that would be rather new. Sailing a building has been done already after all...

Silo Home

[vivIsel]

These are the same folks who created the interesting (depending on how you see it...) Silo home that sold on eBay recently--since it has a full airstrip on the property, it would seem that there would be no better place for the paranoid maniac who bought the silo to put a shiny new plane-home. (;

Max Power Aerospace?

[barzok]

Does it come with a monogrammed shirt?

Re:Max Power Aerospace?

[SYFer]

Thirded. Outstanding SWF!

Re:Max Power Aerospace?

[threeturn]

Apart from being the worst web designer on the planet (well maybe not THE worst but still pretty bad). This guy also has the biggest pile of junk ever seen on eBAY. I was particularly taken by "Life Lessons of a Male Dancer".

I ask you - "would you buy a used aircraft from this man"?

Err... what the hell?

[Wakko Warner]

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.

Re:Err... what the hell?

[AndroidCat]

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!")

Re:Err... what the hell?

[Reziac]

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).

Re:Err... what the hell?

[giminy]

Especially when you follow their recommendation:

We recommend that common rooms be located in the middle of the aircraft and private rooms toward the front and rear.

Mm Mm Mm, nothing quite like the centripital force of being at the ends of a large rotating object.

Re:Err... what the hell?

[ces]

Multi-port swivels are commonly used in industry for things like cranes and have been for years. It should be no problem to handle phone, power, water, sewage, etc.

Re:Err... what the hell?

[ces]

It should be fairly easy to provide dampening to limit the rotation speed of the shaft. Think of it as really big video camera fluid pan head.

Re:Err... what the hell?

[Anonymous Coward]

All you need is to do is set up 8 six-foot diameter wind-generators on each wing for heaps of power. They're always facing into the wind, and it might actually kind of look cool to see them spinning as well.

If the wings were left on that is.

I'm just picturing the lift on the winged version that would be generated during a hurricane...

crunch.

Re:Err... what the hell?

[Reziac]

So far so good. Any idea what the cost of such a unit would be for "home use" ??

Seems to me...

[labratuk]

Seems to me that if this plane always faces into the wind, and provided they leave the wings on, when the wind gets reasonably high it could just be ripped off the ground.

What's to stop this happening? Or is this considered to be an added bonus by the clientele?

Re:Seems to me...

[KillerBob]

I would assume they'll either remove the wings all together, or use spoilers of some sort. To weathervane, they don't need wings: just the tail.

Re:Seems to me...

[kuroth]

Reasonably high?

The actual minimum takeoff speed would depend on a lot of variables, but the wind is never going to get fast enough to actually generate lift.

If it could, 727's would be hopping around airstrips all the time.

Re:Seems to me...

[jonnythan]

Do parked planes fly?

Re:Seems to me...

[MyHair]

I would assume they'll either remove the wings all together, or use spoilers of some sort. To weathervane, they don't need wings: just the tail.

The site claims to offer rails for the wings if you want. It said it would hold like 70 people per wing at 175 lbs apiece. They seemed to base this on flight charicteristics.

I can't believe these people are for real. They don't seem to have an existing converted plane to photograph and made a horrible digital rendering.

Sure, 727-200s are tough and made to take stress, but the ones in service go through regular scheduled maintenance checks mandated by the FAA. Aircraft maintenance hangars have ways of checking for metal fatigue and replace parts as needed. Also they are designed to take stress through the wings and main landing gear; I don't know how the body would do stuck up on a column year after year. Then there's the danger of galvanic corosion where your presumably stell support structure connects to the aluminum airframe.

Re:Seems to me...

[InrdZQdxdqn]

Yes, it's possible. I think takeoff speed for one of this is about 150 mph.

But there's a trick: the flaps.

So, providing they're still operational and there's a hurricane, you could try........

Re:Seems to me...

[Reziac]

Not just galvanic corrosion, but as trailer dwellers sometimes discover, after 30-odd years exposed to weather, aluminum can become porous; also the seams stretch due to thermal and flex stress, and no amount of resealing completely fixes the resultant leaks. I've got a travel trailer of 1961 vintage that despite many layers of sealant, has this very problem -- the roof and walls sortof ooze in spots. (Similar problems affect some aluminum siding used on regular houses.)

Trailers are not maintenance-free by a long stretch (particularly the roof, floors, and plumbing). I'd expect an aircraft has similar issues.

Re:Seems to me...

[KingOfBLASH]

Yes. But the social benefits of the removal of the jack asses who would buy such things from the gene pool is priceless. -Dan

Re:Seems to me...

[ces]

The site claims to offer rails for the wings if you want. It said it would hold like 70 people per wing at 175 lbs apiece. They seemed to base this on flight charicteristics.

On an operating aircraft the wing have to support the fuel load when on the ground and the plane plus 150 or so passengers plus a margin of safety when in the air.

Mil. cargo is better

[Anonymous Coward]

Someday a C5-A will go on sale. With enough floor space for about 8 city buses, that's 2 stories, now that's interesting.

Pay with PayPal!

[echucker]

There are at least two of them for sale on ebay right now - here and here Too bad the missle silo home is already sold.

Guess I'll have to settle for a double-wide.

Re:Pay with PayPal!

[seizer]

To be honest, if I had that kind of money, I might be more inclined to buy a functioning MIG 21 ;-)

Re:Pay with PayPal!

[Eminence]

As to missile silo home - it's interesting whether Russians took notice that it's now someone's home and removed this place from their SS-20s target list.

Just couldn't resist...

Re:Pay with PayPal!

[echucker]

From their FAQ-

Does Russia still have this site as a target?
NO. This Atlas-F Series was finished before the SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty). The Russians knew these sites were already obsolete and decommissioned.


After a bit of digging around at SiloMan's coordinates page, it appears that that particular site is just off of Route 3 near Clayburg, NY, and can be seen in a 1995 aerial photo on Terraserver.

Comes with optional twin towers...

[Anonymous Coward]

Arab hijackers are also available for $99 each including life insurance.

Heh, you will spent most of the time cleaning the bird shit off it.

Re:Comes with optional twin towers...

[AndroidCat]

What, pay extra for hijackers? A recent newsgroup spam for an ADSL service offered to mail a Free Installation Kid if I signed up.

airplane is the building

[Anonymous Coward]

So now instead of some cowardly asshole slamming the airplane into the building, it's become a building itself.

So what do you attack this with? A Cessna?

Re:airplane is the building

[Anonymous Coward]

No...with a tower....

WTF?

[Anonymous Coward]

Im not sure that pic above works if not then go to http://www.airplanehomes.com/twa1.jpg and check that shit out. That a horrible excuse for a photoshop. I've seen better at www.fark.com

Oh come on...

[joto]

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...)

Another quote

[andfarm]

"In the event of a water landing you may be used as a floation device."

Had to say it!

Sure beats a school bus

[HealYourChurchWebSit]

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.

Re:Sure beats a school bus

[Anonymous Coward]

but it sure beats the school bus David Koresh had buried in his backyard as a bunker.

Damn and I thought the "worlds largest" time capsule located in Seward Nebraska,USA was truly the "largest" piece of useless junk that there was. IIRC they have a whole 70's era car buried as a time capsule and claimed to have the world's largest time capsule. I believe that the family name is Davisson or something similar and they had a junk^H^H^H^H furniture store set up that had some good candy that cost $.24 (damn taxes anyway) that I am still trying to find to this day.
I remember getting my weekly allowance $1.00 and getting FOUR packages of candy. ) Yes I know that this makes me older than dirt but I knew it was a dangerous job when I signed on.

I got it from a hairdryer. . .

[Betelgeuse]

Is anyone else entertained by the fact that this is made available by "Max Power Aerospace, Inc."?

I'd like to be the first

[Inthewire]

May I be the first to say "What the fuck?"

Thank you.

spin

[wkitchen]

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

[ewhac]

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

Re:spin

[Reziac]

Think of it as an upgrade to what you can see on missouritrailertrash.com ;)

Complexities?

[silvaran]

all the complexities of a normal home

Does it have a Beowulf cluster of... uh...

SCAM

[upt1me]

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

Re:SCAM

[Anonymous Coward]

I am a Square Trade dealer, a Titanium PowerSeller on eBay. This is no scam. I will sell your stuff on eBay. www.IwillSELLyourSTUFF.com. Upt1me did not do his research very well. In the last few months I have sold a truck, a jeep, a timeshare, land and a $2.1 Million Missile Silohome. www.silohome.com.

Donald L. Peters
MicroSell (eBay ID)
www.airplanehomes.com

It could be used as an over-elaborate plot

[Anonymous Bullard]

... 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...

[AcquaCow]

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

re: Max Power Aerospace

[SnoooBob2k]

Formerly known as Homer Simpson Aerospace...

So we've got a company named after something from a simpsons episode, cheezy doctored photographs of planes on a pylon, and all for sale on an EBAY AUCTION??? Words fail me....

Shuttle Buran

[wideBlueSkies]

This is almost as bad as the Russians turning one of the Burans into a tourist attraction.

Yeah, it's only a prototype, but it's still funny.

600th post

[ealar dlanvuli]

yay me!

Re:600th post

[Anonymous Coward]

JFYI you got added to my friends list because of your sig, and beacuse my spoon is too big. :p ~Cyno01

toilets?

[updog]

I wonder if these are simply equiped with the traditional airplane restrooms? That wouldn't be too pleasant... and what about showers? Heh, I'm thinking if the scene in Tommy Boy with Chris Farley changing in the restroom...

Re:toilets?

[nucal]

For that matter, how do you do the plumbing in a "freely rotating" structure?

Full Mirror Here:

[Mish]

http://doomx.net/airplanehomes.com/

Enjoy.

Steaming pile alert!

[kuroth]

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.

Re:Steaming pile alert!

[cosyne]

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.

Re:Steaming pile alert!

[AndroidCat]

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.

Max Power Aerospace, Inc?

[compass46]

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

Re:Max Power Aerospace, Inc?

[ewhac]

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

[iteratix]

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.

Re:Its Capabilities

[Fat Casper]

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!

Re:Its Capabilities

[Anonymous Coward]

WWJD? JWRTFA!

Pure genius!

Stripped

[Detritus]

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?

Re:Stripped

[beebware]

Well, think of all that space - it'll allow you to make one hell of a case mod :)

Functioning cockpit?

[LichP]

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?

[mithras the prophet]

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?

Re:What kind of traffic are they trying to draw?

[wadetemp]

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

I think it's fairly obvious... any one of those things. Except for titty, which won't get you anywhere.

Re:What kind of traffic are they trying to draw?

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm guessing he thinks anyone who wants to live in an airplane will believe:

an airplane would make a cool nightclub

chicks would think it's interesting

it would get him laid (or at least girls will feel the desire to do the can-can)

an airplane would make a cool resort

serving miniature bottles of alcohol will never get old

an airplane would make a cool sports bar

an airplane would make a cool rotating classroom (hey, I'm grasping at straws here)

Re:What kind of traffic are they trying to draw?

[dr_dank]

Oh, like you HAVEN'T entered "rotating titty house" into a search engine before....

/sarcastic :)

Re:What kind of traffic are they trying to draw?

[Myco]

That's a good point, actually -- why are they pushing this as a residence? It seems like it would be much more viable as a commercial property. Probably not a restaurant, though -- everyone knows how terrible airline food is. But I could totally see this as a nightclub or something. Only problem is where to put it -- maybe the zoning restrictions are easier with residential. Plus, it would be hard to find space for it in many commercial settings.

Re:What kind of traffic are they trying to draw?

[quaxzarron]

(Score:5, Informative)??????
*Informative*!!!!??? Is that what this post was?????
~!nrk

Wey hey hey!

[Anonymous Coward]

Now I can truely say I live in a mobile home! ;)

Silo Home vs. Airplane Home

[iiioxx]

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.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

get a ham license

[zogger]

--your home owners association has no say on whether or not you can put a ham tower up. Get a ham license, then put up your "ham tower" get it? heh... It's illegal for them by federal law to restrict you. The state can't, the county can't, a city can't, and the home owners association can't. If they try, seems to me you can sue them, maybe they will pay off your mortgage by settling out of court?Perhaps even the feds might arrest them?

Don't know, don't care, good luck on your antenna*, And next time (friendly advice, not trolling or flaming)think twice before moving into such a restricted area, freedom-loss is nothing to actually pay cash for, lotsa other "living" opportunities out there.

* I needed an antenna,hmm... went out back, dug hole, installed three section tower, ran cable, done....

Re:get a ham license

[Sparr0]

They only dont have a say if you leave the association. As long as you belong then you are bound by their rules. Is putting up the antenna worth losing all the benefits of a HOA?

Re:get a ham license

[firebee]

You were successful at this? My impression was that the homeowners association rules couldn't be bypassed by PRB-1, because they're private contracts that you supposedly entered into of your own free will.

Re:get a ham license

[zogger]

--well, now ya got me I admit I do not know. Seems to me though that an actual federal law would supercede or nullify those specific provisions of a contract that might be in conflict with said law. For an extreme instance, may you actually buy and sell humans legally into and out of slavery, even if its voluntary with all parties concerned? Would a private contract void the laws against slavery? I don't think so probably.

I'll wait for a knowledgable HAM (yourself?) or dedicated googler to interject here, but I am 90+% sure the fed law supercedes all else in the matter of the antennas, but will put it at a "maybe" now. If this isn't the case, I sit at keyboard corrected and will file it away in the bio-hdd. Need to see the statute and case law on it I guess, but I don't feel like looking for it as it doesn't concern me all that much. I'm playing with the tiny linux distro thread right now, have this olden tyme laptop with zilch on it but a corrupt winderz system...hmmm. only a flop drive... hmmm....anyway..

As to me with the antenna, never been inside a home owners association,I know too many people who were happy as clams to buy into one, then some time the road they found they really wanted to do something they hadn't initially considered -like this referenced antenna install- only to be rebuffed, and they had "buyers remorse" then. For a look at it semi almost humorously, they found out that by golly they are actual humans too and golly gee two they now are the "riff raff" they didn't want to associate with to "keep property values up" or some such. To those who can live with it, swell! Their choice, My ideal choice would be 180 degrees opposite, ie, zero restrictions. If I want an antenna, installed. New chicken coop, built, etc. Buy a boat, want to park it in the driveway, done. Stop working for someone, lose your job say, get an idea then, start your own business, buy a business truck and want the logo on it, accomplished. Your regular car breaks something, you buy the part, weekend comes, you go to install it, you can do it outwardly again in the driveway. You decide you wish to install some landscaping trees and shrubs, you pick your choice and plant them, without worrying they are the politically correct species. Get tired of small dish tv want to get back into K band dish, go find a used one and put it up. Hmm, get interested in solar PV, want to add a few panels to the roof and play with it, install, done. And etc, etc, etc. Most home owner associations I am aware of restrict the above, just for very general conversational examples. Of course, some probably don't and given the size of slashdot a wag will troll in here with the obligatory exception to the rule, but I am most generally speaking now. To each their own, as a life long geek and eccentric, cookie cutter existence is just not my style, but that is just my choice, it's neither correct nor incorrect for anyone but me.

Re:get a ham license

[firebee]

Well, I did some digging. The preemption of local regulations on antennas is in 97.15b , and that requires state and local governments to 'reasonably accomodate' amateur radio operations. Nothing about homeowner's associations, and though the ARRL has requested that they be included, so far the FCC has been unwilling to do that. You can't contract to something that's illegal, as you said, but you can contract to not do something that's otherwise legal for you to do.

Nevertheless, a person who is seeking a TV antenna in a covenant-controlled area would be well served by getting in contact with a ham (One who, unlike myself, has more than a couple of years experience basically being licensed and occasionally talking with the local club repeater. Not _on_ the repeater. _With_ the repeater. Living in a RF hole sucks sometimes.), as they often have to deal with this sort of thing and therefore have valuable information about how to either negotiate an equitable solution or sneak in a suitable antenna. "Oh, no. No antennas here. That is a perfectly ordinary flagpole/electric fence/modern sculpture/crank-up tower mounted in the bed of a pickup truck with a funny license plate. I am a perfectly ordinary and compliant member of this idyllic community, and I would never even consider having odd or unusual hobbies that might disturb the delicate sensibilies of my neighbors. Nothing to see here, move along."

And yeah, I fail to see the advantage of these communities.
"So what do I get for painting my house the Official Beige?"
"Well, you get to live in a neighborhood where everyone else paints their house Official Beige."
"Woo freaking hoo."
I think I'll take the plane as a neighbor, thanks much. I get to have my antenna farm, and he gets to rotate -- and if he doesn't like the antennas, he can rotate anyway!

Re:get a ham license

[ces]

Benefits of a HOA?
There are benefits to having a bunch of busybody neighbors tell you what color the marigolds planted in your yard must be?

Re:get a ham license

[jargoone]

I'll tell you the advantage. When you go to sell your property, it's worth a whole lot more if you don't have some stupid amateur radio dork's antenna 15' in te air. It's also an eyesore to look at on a day-to-day basis. There is a perfect place for people like you that want cars on blocks and pink flamingoes in your yard -- it's called the desert.

This reminds me of another kind of house

[jpt.d]

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

[zogger]

--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.

Is it not a mobile home?

[955301]

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!

BARF-O-MATIC

[MacAndrew]

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). 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.

Re:BARF-O-MATIC

[Anonymous Coward]

You forgot something--what about the lift from the wings? That ought to put quite a bit of strain on that swivel thingy, too...

Re:BARF-O-MATIC

[pmz]

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.

I guess if they were smart, they would design some form of damping into the pivot. A sleeve bearing with highly viscous grease would probably be sufficient or, perhaps, an impeller immersed in heavy oil. Of course, the natural rotational inertia of the airframe may be sufficient, too, but I really don't know. A sophisticated homeowner might engage the autopilot to keep the airframe stable in a storm, but that would require too much maintaince of the hydraulics (I'd rather just watch TV and drink beer (yes, I'm an American), but I guess someone else might be more gung-ho about it).

Re:BARF-O-MATIC

[MacAndrew]

Yes, I'm sure there are engineering solutions but, sheesh, why bother? Everyone's gonna be laughing at you for your dumb house-plane.

Put your money into a good lightly-used missile silo. Now THAT'S American -- just let those commies try to take you out.

Silo vs Airplane?

[FireballFreddy]

Sure, the silo has tons of space. But the airplane has a view. Beat that!

Hoax or not, I think the concept is neat. Imagine the parties you could throw, with a few dozen people mingling on the wings and a well-stocked bar inside? And despite the tornado/spin comments so far, I think that a slow rotation when the wind changes would be relaxing, might even help a person sleep.

-FF

I dunno...

[aussiedood]

...I just don't think this idea will fly.

Re:Karma!

[Anonymous Coward]

1. See, the problem with your post was that step 3: was Karma!!!

2. In your own directions, to get Karma, step 3 must be PROFIT!!!. Therefore, your comment is now rated -1. :)

3. There is no statement 3.

4. Profit.

Been Done

[Anonymous Coward]

I remember in the 70s seeing an aircraft, DC-3 I think, being used as a novelty motel room in Wisconsin. Maybe around Mineral Point or a little south of there. We'd drive past it on the way to a little climbing at Devil's Lake.

(Insert nostalgic sigh.) Perhaps the past sometimes seems better because sometimes it was...

Perfectly safe until...

[AndroidCat]

Some terrorist crashes a building into your plane!

Just think...

[AndroidCat]

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!)

Why You Should Buy One Now

[squarefish]

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.

Re:Why You Should Buy One Now

[AndroidCat]

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. :^)

Re:Why You Should Buy One Now

[Anonymous Coward]

What are you so afraid of...that the owner is going to stick it next to your trailer and chuck his beer cans down in your yard.

um...

[dacarr]

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 on what appears to be a hill.)

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

Hurricane safety?

[chhamilton]

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.

Imagine...

[AndroidCat]

A large subdivision of these homes. (Ha, you thought I was going to use the B-word, didn't you?)

Note that refitting the cockpit for MS Flight Simulator is one of the options that they offer.

Bang!

[MacAndrew]

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.

Re:Bang!

[Anonymous Coward]

I got hit by a lightning, and now I glow.

Hurricane Debris Danger

[Alien54]

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

Re: Max Power Aerospace

[tzanger]

Romeo & Juliet for 1337 hax0rz! http://www.redcoat.net/pics/romjul.swf

That's one of the funniest swfs I've seen in a long time, thanks!

Only in America

[jyang]

Trailer home, Winnabagle, The World Cruise, and now this crap.

Get-rich books selling fake planes?

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, at least he takes his own advice.

just a shell of a plane..

[Reservoir Penguin]

According to their website engine, controls and most of the avioniks parts have been removed. too bad. It would be cool to live in the air and never touch the ground, sorta like that guy from Contact.

Other uses too...

[babbage]

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. Yow!

The winning bidder is D.B. Cooper

[Anonymous Coward]

And he won't need a parachute to exit the rear stairs this time...

I bet they haven't thought of this problem

[Uma Thurman]

If you've ever driven in the countryside of a redneck state (I'm thinking of rural Indiana now) you've seen the stop signs with the holes in them.

An airplane on a pole is going to be a giant target for a redneck with a shotgun. This just can't be safe!

Who cares about an old B727-200...

[Cheese Cracker]

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...

And think of the size of the tow truck!

[Reziac]

What I want to know, is how they expect me to believe they towed an aircraft of that size thru those hills (per the ebay "photo").

HUH?

[jonr]

Gives totally new meaning to rich trailer trash...
J:

Missle Silo home

[barfarf]

Another link they had on that page was the missle silo home on ebay that sold for 2 million! I think I'd rather have one of these instead of the airplane..

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?MfcISAPICom ma nd=ViewItem&item=1771107126

Re: Max Power Aerospace

[Brian_rts]

Oh man that swf movie was funny as hell

I'm so sad...

WORK FROM HOME

[Anonymous Coward]

Calling all Pilots and cabin crews. We now offer an oppertunity to Work From Home.

The silo home is real, but may not be theirs

[Animats]

That converted missile silo has been on sale for a year or two now. See 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.

Tucows domains...

[s-orbital]

I have 3 domains registered with them, I am very happy with their service. They personally reply within about 1/2 hour to their emails, and they have a nice control panel. A hell of a lot better than the email-forms/domain-bondage nazi registrar named Verisign. I'm glad I switched. Art Ketcham

Old News

[BryanL]

This is old news. I think I read about this, or a similar project about 5 years ago. They Basically take the wings off and put the body on a pivoting column. It is supposed to be ideal in hurricane areas. The body of the plane is aerodynamic and holds up well in high winds.

But why this is current news beats me. Maybe I should no go read the article. Typical slashdot reader.

And I'm walking down the stairs when....

[crusher-1]

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.

Oh...My...God!

[nanoakron]

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.

Re:Oh...My...God!

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually http://www.rotaflow.com/multiport/multiport.htm has some.

ac

zoning department

[g4dget]

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?

ObSlashBotLibertarian Whine

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

What?! Use them to help the homeless? Why should we be helping the homeless; if they want to live in a plane let them get jobs and make $295,000 and buy their own freakin' planes, you communist!

It's just you :p

[Mulletproof]

And lets talk "balance while we're at it. Don't put all your appliances in one end!

Boeing Airplane home

[inode_buddha]

Do you still have to manually re-inflate the autopilot?

Be the envy....

[Ride-My-Rocket]

.... of all the other white trash in your trailer park. Buy one today!

News means the info is timely

[Anonymous Coward]

Are you suggesting everything from 3 years ago should be regurgitated as 'news for nerds'? I don't even work at slashdot, but I remembered this story as soon as I saw the headline. Somehow I think the people editing slashdot are working other jobs or something.

Imagine the Feng Shui...

[Kaenneth]

with a house that weathervanes...

no way

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm not living anywhere I can't use my cellphone!

Other ideas? I snoozed, I lost

[r2ravens]

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.

Cool

[stevenp]

Cool, just plain cool!
For the price of a standard 100 sq.m. flat (250 000 EUR, Bayern, Germany), I can get a custom equipped B727 rotating on its own axe.

Do these guys deliver to Europe?

Re:Cool

[Anonymous Coward]

These things can be put together almost anywhere in the world. Of course in your case it would be a retired Lufthansa aircraft.

This is going to be so ugly.

[Sarin]

These airplanes are designed to stay afloat. Now I live in Amsterdam, where some people live in nice boats on the typical canals, surrounded by beautiful 17th century buildings. Now imagine this ugly floating plane on one of these canals.

Planning permission in UK

[pommiekiwifruit]

There is no way most local councils would allow that in the UK. NZ is another matter of course (plenty of whacky structures there).

A local cause celebre in London is the guy who stuck a plastic marlin on his roof... years of court appearances, driving a pink tank around the city and newspaper headlines followed...

Sheesh, we get major battles here over the size of hedges (Leylandii is not liked by those overshadowed by it).

The last prime minister (John Major) once had the job of ensuring all house doors remained painted grey (apparently someone dared paint their door another colour; the council painted it back).

They modify the wings..

[Anonymous Coward]

It says in the text that the wings are modified so that they don't produce any lift. Sure, it wouldn't be able to lift anyway, but they probably don't want the plane to rock and shake.

Right idea, Wrong place.

[IPFreely]

B727s have all three engines in the tail. (One in the rear of the body, two side mounted, with a T-tail arrangement. There are no engines on the wings.

next on jeopardy:

[MadLibs]

answer: what .commers live in when they pull their stocks before the company goes under --- after all.... who wants to live in a trailer park .... when you can live in THIS kinda mobile home?!?! :)

Create a new Airliner

[Anonymous Coward]

Al-Qaeda airlines :)

Last Post!

[alpg]

DOS: n., A small annoying boot virus that causes random spontaneous system
crashes, usually just before saving a massive project. Easily cured by
UNIX. See also MS-DOS, IBM-DOS, DR-DOS.
-- David Vicker's .plan

- this post brought to you by the Automated Last Post Generator...