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Steve Plattner | profile | all galleries >> Galleries >> Bruce Campbell's Boeing 727-200 tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

Bruce Campbell's Boeing 727-200

A decade ago, Bruce Campbell, a soft-spoken, kind, and intelligent electrical engineer took on a project of almost epic proportions. Through an aircraft broker, he purchased a worn 1969 Olympic Airways Boeing 727-200, an aircraft that had made more than 40,000 flights, mostly between Greek cities as well as larger European capitals. In his 727-200, Bruce saw more than a plane that deserved to escape the giant metal shears aircraft salvage yards use to hack apart planes. Instead, he saw the plane as a work of art, and, testimony to the incredible technological achievement of the assemblers, aeronautical engineers, mechanics, pilots, electrical engineers and all those who made air travel safe and attainable for millions of people. Rather than see it mindlessly butchered, at considerable expense, Bruce had the wings and tail removed at a local airport outside of Portland before towing it several miles to his secluded, hillside property where it has remained. It is his home, and he has steadily worked to restore it, fighting against the counterforces of nature--water, ultraviolet light, moss, and mildew among others. Even after seeing it in photographs, coming upon the 727 home, formerly the Olymic Airways flagship "Mount Parnassus," for the first time is stunning. Airplanes are typically seen in the air, or when on the ground, on an asphalt or concrete tarmac. Encountering a very large, intact aircraft in a mowed clearing, surrounded by Douglas first and walnut trees, is a unique experience.
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Front landing gear, resting on a steel wheel.
Front landing gear, resting on a steel wheel.
Bruce Campbell with the Mt. Parnassus.
Bruce Campbell with the Mt. Parnassus.
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