Views from the tree tops

Atop of a steep dirt driveway, circled by pine trees, a Boeing 727 looks like it has just landed from a long trip.

It has.

For former electrical engineer Bruce Campbell, he gets to call it home six months a year in Oregon.

Campbell bought the plane in 1999, and the plane is complete, with wings and landing gear that rests on pillars.

Campbell has a simple goal and vision – to save retired jetliners from becoming scrap metal – by using the planes.

Campbell is one of a handful of people – from Texas to the Netherlands – who take retired aircrafts and transform them into living spaces or other projects (i.e., Tulsa Air & Space Museum’s newest display is the interactive airplane on site).

The Aircraft Fleet Recycling Association (AFRA) focus on sustainable end-of-service practices for airplane frames, estimates that between 1,200 to 1,800 aircraft will be globally dismantled in the next 20 years.

Campbell is now making plans to buy a Boeing 747 and move it to Japan, where he spends the other six months of the year.