Airplane homes!

[Marquis_Rex]

Once when I was walking along what appeared to be a typical surburban street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, I came across a boat, amongst a row of houses- where someone was living. Far from being a shack- it seemed to be in pristine order- a varnished pride and joy.
Also came across things like the ornamental front of a 50s Chevy "coming out of the ground"-in someone front garden- shining lights when night. I'm not sure but I reckon none of this kind of carry on would be allowed over here. America really is land of the free in many ways.
Well I got wondering today if anyone has ever converted an Air craft into a home- this is what I found:
www.airplanehome.com/

www.airplanehome.com/FAQs.html

I have to admire this guys eccentricity and individuality. If I could get out of the rat race and be comfortable- I would love to give something like this a go- given enough open land/space.
It would be the ultimate two finger salute to the boring narrow minded 'locked-in' conformist-surburbanite- Semi/terraced-dwelling, Mondeo-TDCi/Vectra owning- keep-up-with-the-jones mentality I keep stumbling across....
That and a few out buildings to keep my projects in of course

[BCA]

Superb.

[miniman]

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=97123-9074&ll=45.407825,-123.008122&spn=0.005461,0.007918&t=k&hl=en

[rich 36]

Fantastic, what an innovative use of old technology,

[Marquis_Rex]

rich 36 said:

Fantastic, what an innovative use of old technology,

I agree. It makes so much sense, (perhaps less so compared to old British buildings with herritage-where an "emotional element" comes in) but compared to the cheap weak wooden shacks (albeit spciaious) in the US.....
The Jet engines, rudder and engine nacelles are the ultimate two fingers to the boring conformist 'metroland' surburban establishment.

Now Minimax, care to hazard a guess as to what the value would be come selling time?

[rich 36]

Now, thats not to advocate, the rest of us, setting up home A la 'double deckers' or indeed, in a torpedo tube aboard a murmansk derelict submarine.

But its sort of fun to think of OTHER PEOPLE doing what he has done.

[jimbeaux]

rich 36 said:

I agree. It makes so much sense, (perhaps less so compared to old British buildings with herritage-where an "emotional element" comes in) but compared to the cheap weak wooden shacks (albeit spciaious) in the US.....

Our homes are not as "weak" as you may be led to believe. Now, except for the wonderful older construction in England(up until, let's say, 1965), how is the newer construction of dwellings compared to other western nations. What makes them so much better?



>> Edited by jimbeaux on Sunday 15th May 20:21

[rich 36]

Personally my aspirations towards different dwellings, has long passed now. For awhile it was a loft space perhaps with a bar made out of an old car in the corner, and a space big enough for a football match on one floor, but now..
Well, what he was banging on about with 'stick houses'
must be tornado bait along with mobil-homes I suppose, which look a bit unsubstantial to us Brits
hey we survived the hurricane of 87? right so brick must be better.

[Eric Mc]

Aeroplanes are not really the best structures out of which to make homes. They are pretty light and susceptable to corrosion. I would reckon that a "plane house" would be unliveable in after about 30 years.

[Jimbeaux]

rich 36 said:

Personally my aspirations towards different dwellings, has long passed now. For awhile it was a loft space perhaps with a bar made out of an old car in the corner, and a space big enough for a football match on one floor, but now.. Well, what he was banging on about with 'stick houses' must be tornado bait along with mobil-homes I suppose, which look a bit unsubstantial to us Brits hey we survived the hurricane of 87? right so brick must be better.

I see; mobile homes here are nicknamed "tornado magnets". While many here live in these, they by no means make up the majority of our homes.

[rich 36]

Sorry Jimbeaux, that did not read quite how I wanted it to,
The predominant building material here is (of course)Brick/block.
As our monumental hurricane proved to us smug Brits, back in the 80's. A building constructed in this, is more resistant to nature, whereas people living in
mobile homes are likely to lose home & life in the event of a hurricane or tornado,
as were often shown the aftermath on TV news where it looks like a bomb has gone off nearby.
The parralell to aircraft construction which I was thinking of, was a 'trailer' built in US called
(I think) Streamliner or streamflow something like that, they looked a bit like the fuselage of an airliner in 'ally' with riveted joints and curved body
never seen one in the UK though.

[einion yrth]

Airstream.

[jimbeaux]

einion yrth said:

Airstream.

Ah, Airstream travel trailers. Very expensive holiday tools, lifetime body warranty. They look like a plane because they were designed by the folks who made WWII bomber frames.

[rich 36]

Oh, the ones I had in mind, were even more stylish in a 50's way but these'll do for now
how many $ BTW

[jimbeaux]

rich 36 said:

Oh, the ones I had in mind, were even more stylish in a 50's way but these'll do for now how many $ BTW

100K+ for the beginners, on up to a million or more.

[Bob the Planner]

Mmmmm - how much for a life expired 747 ? could be a fun alternative to a standard house. The only problem would be a suitable garage, although the wing root may be large enough for a car or two.

[rich 36]

blimey, suddenly an aircraft seems more attractive after all

[Marquis_Rex]

Bob the Planner said:

Mmmmm - how much for a life expired 747 ? could be a fun alternative to a standard house. The only problem would be a suitable garage, although the wing root may be large enough for a car or two.

I wondered if the jet engines could be "empitied out" . However just by guess work from looking, I doubt the 747 Pratt and Whitney casings look big enough to house cars within them (you would need to make a ramp). However, I reckon the larger twin engined engine casings as found on craft such as the 757s, 767s and 777s may be just the ticket. Ony problem is you're unlikely to find one of those getting scrapped

[LongQ]

Marquis_Rex said:

However, I reckon the larger twin engined engine casings as found on craft such as the 757s, 767s and 777s may be just the ticket. Ony problem is you're unlikely to find one of those getting scrapped

I suspect there are one or two people around the world who might take on delivery if you placed an order.

May even break it into component parts.

A nice dry desert somewhere would seem to be the best option.

[LongQ]

Marquis_Rex said:

Once when I was walking along what appeared to be a typical surburban street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, I came across a boat, amongst a row of houses- where someone was living. Far from being a shack- it seemed to be in pristine order- a varnished pride and joy.

If only they had not missed out on the industrial revolution!

Maybe the owner should build a canal to go with the boat?

My neighbours spend several months a year living on their self built (with some heavy engineering help and a couple of months from a specialist carpenter) Dutch Barge style canal boat. A terrific thing it is too.

Not something they can bring home with them though.