Updated: April 11th, 2024 | Posted by: Grace Kim
Besides taking the obligatory airplane wing picture high up in the clouds, have you ever wondered what it’s like being on top of one? Located 40 minutes outside of Portland sits a Boeing 727 in the middle of the woods.
Back in 1999, Bruce Campbell, former engineer and pilot, migrated his airplane home to Oregon from Greece. Even at 70 years old, Bruce shows how plausible and “terrific” it is living in old jetliners and claims that he will never live inside a traditional home. He doesn’t like the concept of debt and especially enjoys not having to pay off mortgage. He is living in his “bachelor pad” dream home as he picked up this as an unconventional opportunity.
For 20 years, the Airplane Home has been open to the public to view and tour. It’s a unique experience you can only get at a few places in the world, as Bruce’s Airplane Home stands out amongst the others.
All You Need to Know Before Visiting The Airplane Home in Hillsboro, Oregon
Whether you’re a local or visiting Oregon, witnessing the abandoned Airplane Home with your bare eyes is entirely worth it. I mean, how often can you walk and jump on top of airplane wings?
If you plan on visiting, Bruce recommends that you notify him via email when you plan on swinging by. You can find his email on AirplaneHome.com and as long as your email lands in his inbox, you’ll receive a response within the day. Even if Bruce doesn’t respond, his visiting hours are usually flexible throughout the day. He even said that he’s had visitors come while he was taking a shower, but didn’t mind at all.
Note: Make sure your email signature doesn’t include LinkedIn in it, or it will go straight to spam!
I recommend getting there during the day so that you have enough time to take your photos and to tour the entire plane. Within the first few minutes of your visit, you’ll realize how sweet and open Bruce is. If it also wasn’t for COVID, he normally allows tours inside his home.
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Getting to The Airplane Home
On Google Maps, simply type in “Airplane Home” and your final destination will lead you to Hillsboro, Oregon. When Google Maps tells you that you’re a minute away, don’t freak out if you don’t see the plane. You’re not going to see the plane on street level. There’s about 2-3 parking spots on the off dirt road on Holly Hill Road but to be safe, Bruce prefers that his visitors drive up and park on his private road near his old car. There hasn’t been any vandalism yet, but don’t worry about getting your car towed or ticketed since there’s not a lot of foot or car traffic. But if you’re looking to van camp, Bruce allows you to park your RV in front of the left wing.
You’ll know when you’re nearing the Airplane Home when you see the sign that says ConcertOnAWing.com. If you chose to park off the dirt road, assume that following the private road is where you want to head towards. Once you step foot on the driveway, you’ll find yourself walking through a pavement in the woods. Getting closer to the top, you’ll start seeing the nose of the Airplane Home, which will probably have you walking a little faster.
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Landing Foot on Property
Once laying eyes with Bruce’s pet bird, you’ll start feeling inclined to take out your camera. Hold your horses because once you near closer to the plane, you’ll most likely hear a voice from a distance.
That would be Bruce.
Bruce will tell you to come to the right side of the plane where all the magic happens. He greeted us sitting out of a window above the right wing of the plane. He invites you to walk on top of the wing or if you’re not comfortable, he allows you to view the plane on ground level. The group behind us chose to stay on the ground level and fly their drones there, but we couldn’t say no to the offer.
Drone Flying
Although it’s quite the experience to simply visit the plane on ground level, you’ll capture some of the best views from above. Now, if you don’t own a drone, I highly recommend purchasing and knowing how to fly one before visiting. I recommend the DJI Mavic Mini 3 as it comes with a ton of optimal flying capabilities, and it’ll make your experience that much more worth it.
With my DJI Mavic Mini, I was able to get aerial shots I’ve been dreaming about getting for months. Bruce allows drones to be flown anywhere on his property. Just be aware that if you lose or damage your drone, that he is not responsible for your loss.
While flying our drones, we all chatted and took our time getting to know Bruce as he walked us through his background and experience living in an airplane for 20 years. He encouraged us to hang around for as long we wanted to, as we didn’t feel pressured to hurry our visit.
Not only did we want the fuller experience, but we were also eager to see how sturdy walking on the plane was. Once we climbed to get onto the wing, Bruce greeted and welcomed us to his home.
Touring the Plane
Prior to the pandemic, Bruce allowed all types of tours, both indoors and outdoors. Although we were limited to only outdoor tours, Bruce at least invited us to come on top of the plane. Without hesitation, we took the offer because I mean, how often can you stand on top of a plane?
There’s an entrance in the back of the plane that takes you inside and to the top. It’s a bit tricky getting to the top but as long as you follow Bruce’s instructions, you’ll be fine. All it takes is climbing metal bars and having a tight grip. Climbing those monkey bars at the park when you were younger definitely prepared you for this moment!
Bruce has a simple rule of taking off your shoes prior to walking up the stairs that leads to the top of the plane. He also has clean, washed gloves for you to wear in case you want a better grip climbing the plane. And once you get over this obstacle, you finally made it to the top.
Getting Down From the Top of the Plane
Now, once you’re on the top, how do you get down? There are two ways to get down from the top of the plane unless you choose to do a backflip back down.
The first way to get down from the top is to reverse engineer the steps you took to get up. Bruce claims that it’s a bit trickier getting back down than it is getting up, but it’s doable.
The second way to get back down is slowly sliding down onto the right wing. Prior to getting into position, it’s better taking off your gloves in order to get a good grip. Sit on your bottom as if you’re sliding down as Bruce will come around to guide your way back down.
There will come a point where you can’t control your slide down that it will be harder for you to get back up. But, the distance between your feet and the floor of the right wing isn’t as far as it looks.
Take a deep breath and be confident that you will have a smooth landing. And by the time you know it, you’re back on top of the right wing. It’s something that you will probably do only once on your visit, but Bruce encourages you to repeat the process as many times as you’d like.
Solidifying Your Airplane Home Experience
You’ve pretty much covered all there is during your visit. From capturing photos to recording your time, there’s a lot to take away from this unique experience.
From the short time chatting with Bruce, I see his heart and passion for this project. He says that even with the 20+ daily visitors, he never gets sick of meeting people from all around the world. If it wasn’t for the virus, he would be open to people staying overnight as he has home necessities and canned food provided for visitors.
Just make sure that you get in the habit of taking off your shoes before entering his home as he “despises indoor dirt.”
In the near future, Bruce would love to make version two as you can read more about his goals on AirplaneHomeV2.com. If all works out, he’d love to create the second edition in Miyazaki, Japan and relive his dreams once again.
One reason he’d like to relocate in Japan is for his safety. Even though the public knows how sweet and welcoming he is to people from all around the world, he gets the occasional drunks and crazies attempting to break into his home. Unfortunately, someone successfully broke into his home while he was in Japan and took his savings and a lot of his valuables. It’s definitely not an entirely safe environment for him to live in, as he claims that it will be 100% safer living in Japan with AirplaneHomeV2.
Overall Experience
Bottom line is that with all the wonderful and cool things to do in Oregon, visiting the Airplane Home is one of a kind. From having the luxury of capturing footage of the plane from all angles to having heart-felt conversations with the middle aged technology nerd, visiting an airplane in the middle of the woods is quite the experience.
This 1,066 square foot home invites locals and tourists from all around the world as Bruce wants those to feel comfortable during their visit. Not only does he make me want to visit Oregon again, but he also reminds me to be kind hearted and inviting to strangers.
If you had only one place to visit during your trip to Oregon, visiting the abandoned Airplane Home is a highly recommended choice. Just make sure to come with a drone and to be open to some of the most jaw dropping experiences of a lifetime. And maybe Bruce has convinced you enough to purchase a plane on your own and turn it into your very next home.
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