A Summary Airplane Home Project Guide

Updated 16 April 2017 JST

Please also refer to my 2017 updated and highly relevant FAQs if you're considering an airliner home project.  That page includes far more detail in many areas, including options for very low cost projects and specific infrastructure conversion guidance.

I'm not an extraterrestrial nor android - I'm just an ordinary mortal human being with a full array of ordinary human frailties.  If I can do this you can probably do it too.  However, as with all human endeavors success depends upon your will, knowledge, experience, and a host of other factors.  And yes, alas, money is one of them.  But perhaps money's not as big a factor as you suspect.

You need to acquire two things:  An airliner and suitable land to host it.  Then you need to transport your airliner to your land, which is the most daunting challenge.  Then connect it to domestic water, sewer, and electrical power using the usual robust 1/4 turn or push and latch airport ramp connectors.  You'll also need to perform some rather minor modifications to your aircraft, all of which are relatively simple and easy.  Then you can zestfully enjoy your life in your absolutely scintillating, extremely long lived and almost maintenance free aerospace quality home at a very high level of dignity, strength, safety, security, beauty, and pure exhilarating fun.

Acquiring a jetliner:

I've only purchased one so my experience is quite limited.  But here's my recommendation:  Contact several airlines and bone yards and simply explain what model of fully intact airliner you want.  Be clear that you're only interested in a completely intact aircraft, just as it flew in service - explain that you're not interested in any bird from which any material of any kind has been removed or modified.  Almost anyone can purchase a retired or retiring airliner.  You may bid on the bird you want along with other potential buyers, or the owner might set a price with a first come first served sales priority.  They're not terribly expensive depending upon characteristics and condition.  Consider the 747-400 retirement information at Wikipedia for example - the implication of the information there is that a retiring 747-400 sans engines costs about as much to dismantle as the scrap materials are worth, suggesting the airframe has no significant economic value.  So perhaps a person can acquire one at very modest airframe purchase cost so long as the engines are returned after a ferry flight.  I don't know whether that's a practical reality, but the implication is that it might be.

Pay with cash (if necessary), pump fuel into the tanks, arrange for a ferry pilot to fly it to your staging site, arrange engine removal by strict service procedure (meaning zero damage to either engines or airframe) by an experienced service team, then return the engines safely to their owner.  It's not quite that simple of course, but that's a reasonable summary of the airframe acquisition process.

I've read that airliners are expected to retire at the rate of one every eight hours until 2020.  Every eight hours - three per day.  That's a lot of big jets...  This information's unconfirmed, but I suspect it's reasonably correct.  In any case it's quite clear that they're rather readily available.

There are numerous airlines and bone yards.  I recommend starting with the airlines - learn what they have on hand or in their pipeline.  You can find them with web searches or perhaps simply call them and ask to be routed to the appropriate disposition department.  Here's an airline example:  AircraftDisposition.com.  And here's a bone yard example:  http://Groups.Yahoo.com/group/mojaveairport.  (Join the group to access the information.)  Peruse Airliners.net and other aviation related sites as well.

Should you consider purchasing an airliner from a dismantling company, allowing them to remove some components from your aircraft before you take possession like I did?  In most cases:  No.  Absolutely not.  Period.  No.  Don't allow any dismantling firm anywhere within 100 KM of your aircraft, even for a moment.  Irrespective of their honesty a fatal conflict of interest exists:  They need to savage your aircraft rapidly as they pillage for anything of possible value, leaving a grotesque broken hulk behind, whereas you want your aircraft to remain fully intact, sealed, functional, and beautiful.  Irrespective of any respect for your vision they may feel, their needs are in direct, stark, and irresolvable conflict with your vision.  You can't fix that conflict of interest contractually - it's inherent.  So it's a fatal partnership.  In ignorance I tried it and it was a mammoth mistake.  So don't do what I did - don't purchase a home from a home wrecking firm.  Avoid repeating my profound mistake...

However, if you must sacrifice substantially due to a highly limited budget see my FAQs for considerations concerning very low cost projects involving salvaged aircraft.

If the engines on your bird have significant remaining service life they'll ultimately need to be removed as a simple matter of rational economics.  Retain an experienced crew and have them sign a contract stipulating that the removal will be strictly per normal standards for airworthy aircraft, meaning they must observe the same standards and discipline as with maintenance of operational aircraft.  And stipulate that only the basic engines will be removed - no ancillary components nor the nacelles may be removed nor damaged.  Specify painful penalties for noncompliance - make it legally clear that you're dead serious about maintaining the full integrity of your bird.

There'll be a natural tendency for the crew to view your engine removal task as one in which quality of workmanship is no longer important insofar as airframe components are concerned, rationalizing that 'It doesn't matter - it'll never fly again'.  You must correct that natural perception.  So have a personal chat with the crew just before they begin working - explain very clearly that they may not take any liberties on the basis that your bird will never fly again, but rather must treat it as if it will be returned to normal airworthy service.  Then monitor their work personally from beginning to end.

You'll likely want to clear the cabin of most of the rows of seats.  It might be wise to do this prior to ferrying your aircraft (discussed below) to reduce the aircraft's mass and thus improve ferry fuel efficiency and short field landing performance.  Buyers for airliner seats, such as collectors, theme restaurant developers, meeting room facility managers (Rotary Clubs for example), local hanger owners, and others can be found.  Advertise or auction them on the web if useful.

But consider keeping at least a few rows for yourself - you might want to create a nostalgia alcove or guest seating for large social events in your future home.  If they're in reasonably good condition, as most are, they're perfectly suitable as domestic seating.  It's trivially easy to modify their spacing of course so you can provide all the leg room you desire.  And facing arrangements may be created by turning a center or opposing side row 180 degrees so it faces aft yet remains mirror symmetrical with a forward facing row.  A table could be placed between a forward and an aft facing pair of seat rows to create a dining area for example.  And many seats have recline limiters which can be easily overridden to allow them to recline deeply (perhaps to a fully flat position).

Land - your jetliner's future home:

You'll have to transport your airliner to your land.  If you don't already own the intended land consider options which offer substantial aircraft transport logistics advantages.  Wide body aircraft can't be transported on roads - they're simply too large.  No helicopter can lift even a narrow body aircraft - they're simply too massive.  Here are some options to consider:

1.  Acquire land near a beach, ideally with a sturdy large dock and a clear towing path to your home site.  A dock capable of supporting your jetliner as it's off-loaded from a barge would be a substantial benefit, but in my estimation undeveloped beaches with relatively modest inclines can be made viable at reasonable cost.  An airport which abuts navigable water, or nearly so, is necessary for barge transport.  And the closer to your home site the better of course.  But barges can carry cargo considerable distances, so study the tradeoffs for best economy and minimum risks.  Favorable barge transport locations solve a great many problems and largely free you to acquire any size aircraft you desire.

2.  Acquire a large spread of land.  Maybe in Wyoming, Montana, Arizona, Alaska, or anywhere large tracts are affordable.  If the spread is large enough and has a low approach and a flat runoff you could bulldoze a temporary hard dirt landing strip to set your bird onto.  Experienced ferry pilots can land a large jetliner at nearly empty weight onto surprisingly crude and short landing strips.  It's a final flight of course - your landing strip needn't support take-off distance requirements.  Optionally, consider contracting temporary use of a nearby ranch or farm owner's land.  Your cash would benefit them, and short term use of a sliver of their property would benefit you.  They'd probably find the adventure intriguing too, as my neighbors did (and still do).

3.  Acquire land near an intermediate (or large) airport.  If there's an open path from the airport to your home site you could simply tow your aircraft from the airport to your land.  You'll have to work with the airport administrators to determine whether their runway can support your airliner (my sense is that most can).  You might also need to pay intervening landowners a one day (or night) crossing use allowance (hopefully they're reasonable people).  Bone yards have landing strips too of course - perhaps desirable land within towing distance of a bone yard is available.

If you can establish good transport logistics with any of the three methods described above you might want to consider siting more than one airliner because once the logistics are established and proven transport costs for subsequent airliners are relatively cheap.  So if there's ample land around your location consider coordinating with other parties to establish a little (or large) airliner home group.  Such a home development park would be about as unique as it gets and a great deal of fun.  And perfectly practical too.

4.  Lastly, most narrow body aircraft can be transported on many ordinary roads.  That's how I moved my 727-200 to my property.  But it's not an easy process, and since the wings and tail (and probably radome) must be removed prior to road transport, then reattached later, some airframe rash (or worse) is likely to befall your aircraft.  I view road transport as a last choice option.  But if it's your only reasonable option review the details of my experience on this site and then consider your location.  If the process looks viable for you and the costs are acceptable there's no reason to be deterred.  I cut the wings and tail off of my jetliner before realizing that a nondestructive service procedure for removing them exists.  I recommend the service procedure of course - it yields a far better final result with less labor.  The scope of this document is too limited to discuss road transport considerations in full detail.  If you decide to pursue it study my experience as described on this site thoroughly.  Then if suitable contact me for more information.

Financing:

Use cash.  A conventional home mortgage isn't likely to be available until this method of home development becomes far more common, so in general you'll have to finance your project yourself.  However, it might be possible to partner with some firms or organizations which could leverage promotional value from your project.  If you can compose inspired pitches and you're a deft negotiator you might be able to engage multiple constructive partners to minimize your out of pocket expenses.  You'll have to decide how much personal privacy you're willing to forfeit or how much advertising you're willing to tolerate on or in your bird for example.  Be careful with partnerships of course - sometimes it's best to just invest your own cash so you can maintain a reasonable level of personal control and privacy.  How much you'll need depends upon the scope of your project, whether you already own suitable land, and transport logistics.  Fuel for flying your bird from its origin point to your land or a nearby destination isn't cheap - it might cost more than your aircraft, particularly if the flight distance is considerable.  So don't overlook that expense during initial planning.

Domestic conversion - the metamorphosis of a jetliner into a home:

In my experience it's terribly difficult for many people to understand that airliners need only minor modifications to be transformed into truly beautiful and superb homes.  For many people aerospace infrastructure design is rather unfamiliar in nature and thus there's a natural tendency to assume that most of the aircraft's infrastructure, including plumbing, electrical, lighting, climate control, and other infrastructure, should be dismantled and removed, then replaced with familiar conventional home type infrastructure - many people imagine that the aircraft must be very substantially torn down and then rebuilt using conventional domestic materials and methods.  But this notion is wholly mistaken and tragically wasteful.

Abandon provincial thinking - in this arena it's woefully counterproductive.  Airliners support, in their original beautiful form, most of life's domestic needs.  And they do so extremely efficiently and elegantly at an aerospace class quality level which is impressively distinct from common domestic class infrastructure design and fabrication.  Jetliners are flying aerospace class homes.  And when retired only rather minor modifications are necessary to transform them into gorgeous aerospace class static homes - homes of immense strength, immunity to almost any environmental event, impeccable integrity, and gleaming sleek beauty.  Keep your bird intact - don't desecrate its glorious design and execution simply because you feel some inner urge to convert your bird into a more conventional state - into a 'properly provincial' home.  Sanzan baka desu, hontou ni...

1.  Aircraft have connection ports for water and sewer behind simple service doors on the outer skin of the fuselage.  Mating connectors (as used on airport ramps) which easily attach to conventional water and sewer pipes are readily available from the original vendors.  So connection of water and sewer service ports to conventional water and sewer lines is genuinely trivial.  And it's very easy to do so in a manner which provides full immunity to earthquake damage by incorporating flexibility in the connection pipes as part of the design of the stanchion system.  (I did so by looping the pipes and holding the loops in a tidy state with plastic rings with an open side which allows the loops to extend freely in response to minor stress.)  Images of my 727 project's service port connections (but before the right aft lavatory water service was connected) are here, starting with image number 178.  (This one is nicely framed.)

2.  External connection of electrical power should utilize the aircraft's original ramp connector when practical.  Otherwise an external power connection must be added, a straightforward task.

3.  Electrical systems must be augmented to provide a conventional domestic circuit breaker panel and numerous 120 Vrms and 240 Vrms 60 Hz electrical outlets and connection boxes.  But airliners have numerous very easily accessed native wiring passageways and other infrastructure benefits which make this task comparatively easy.  And as mentioned above no wall nor other destructive tear down is necessary.

4.  Installation of a 60 Hz to 400 Hz power converter is necessary to enable operation of all the aircraft's electrical systems, including its very extensive and highly efficient and elegant interior and exterior lighting systems.  These power converters are readily available, economical, and easy to install in the aircraft's equipment bay.  And no modification of the aircraft's original highly protective circuit breaker panels or related systems is necessary.

5.  If wired telecom or Internet line connections are desired earthquake proof external port connections for them can be easily installed adjacent to any other service connection such as the water or electrical service ports.

6.  Climate control involves little more than the addition of a domestic type heat pump to provide a source of warm or cool air.  Almost no modification to existing climate control ducts and process control infrastructure is necessary.  The domestic type heat pump air delivery duct must be mated to one of the engine turbine bypass ducts, or more likely to a trunk duct closer to the aircraft's distribution and control ducts, and the turbine bypass ducts for all the other engines must be sealed.  The heat pump can be of conventional design, which is very simple and easy to install, or optionally ground water from a rural well or buried heat exchanger circulation system could be used as a thermal sink for the heat pump (as I intend for my 727 home), in most cases substantially improving the energy efficiency of the system.

Airliner cabins are sealed pressure canisters so outdoor air can't naturally enter, nor can stale indoor air escape.  So if the heat pump has no native provision to continuously inject a modest volume of filtered outdoor air through a heat exchanger you should leverage your aircraft's native climate control systems for the task.  They already incorporate filters, heat exchangers, and outflow valves.  You just need to merge your heat pump with your aircraft in a manner which retains the functionality of those systems.

7.  Since the aircraft is a sealed pressure canister moisture can't escape.  So it must be artificially removed from the cabin air regularly.  If your heat pump can't do so a separate dehydrator must be installed to maintain sufficiently dry cabin air.  This requirement must be addressed at all times, including immediately after acquisition of your aircraft.  Run an internally located dehydrator regularly - keep the cabin of your aircraft extremely dry until you move in, then comfortably dry afterward - never allow the cabin humidity to rise above 60% (and 50% or lower is better).

8.  Access stairs or similar from ground level to entry doors must be acquired or built unless your aircraft is equipped with air stairs.  Most aren't.  Wheel equipped airport ramp stairs retire from time to time, and though rather rare you might be able to find one or more to serve your home.  Custom built stairs and other options can address this need too.  In many locations you'll probably need both forward and an aft stair access to satisfy fire codes unless wing exits are deemed sufficient as alternative emergency exits (as a practical matter they generally are).  The stairs must not be hard mounted to the aircraft since they can't flex during an earthquake - the aircraft must be free to flex, sway, and bounce up and down relative to the ground on its landing gear during an earthquake so it must be free of any inflexible connections to the ground.

9.  Some fluids such as legacy hydraulic fluids should be replaced with environmentally benign but functional options.  This is a pretty easy task and will not cause loss of operation of the systems involved over ordinary ground temperature ranges.

10.  Your aircraft is a sealed pressure canister so there's no need to worry that insects or rodents could enter your cabin so long as your pressure seals remain intact.  But there might be a rodent vulnerability due to fiberglass reinforced RTV (silicon rubber) accordion seals used around some conduits on some aircraft.  So you need to inspect all conduit entry and exit locations, and if any incorporate RTV accordion seals you must protect then with metal covers so rodents can't chew holes in the RTV.  Please refer to the section under "This last narrative is a long but focused story..." for more detail about this.

That's a complete schedule of significant tasks in summary form - as best I recall nothing else is required to convert a jetliner into a glorious aerospace class home.  (But see my FAQs for considerably more detail.)  It's not as difficult as many people imagine.  And a lot of the work is genuinely fun!

The critical mojo factor:

In my estimation airliner homes will eventually become the normal fate for the vast majority of retired jetliners.  Profit making firms will evolve to address the opportunity and they'll refine the site development, delivery, and conversion process until it becomes extremely straightforward, efficient, safe, and produces a very high quality end product.  But the beginning of that evolution seems stalled at this time.  So you can't just peruse real estate ads for a completed airliner home in your preferred area yet.  (Though if you're interested in mine we should chat - I'm eager to focus my resources on Airplane Home v2.0 so maybe we can serve each other's needs.)  So if you want one now you'll have to work for it - you'll have to summon your mojo, be bold, and grab this bull by the horns and wrestle with him until you reach your goal.  Many of you can do it.  It's not an easy task, but neither is it impossible.  If you want it, just go after it.  Intelligently, boldly, and vigorously.  In my opinion this is an opportunity which is likely to reward your energies and resources very, very richly indeed.  Ganbatte!

Bruce Campbell

Copyright 16 April 2017 JST, Howard Bruce Campbell, AirplaneHome.com.

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