A couple of people pointed out to us the helicopter in flight just north of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Ennis House that we posted the other day.

Contributed by Will Willard and Ross Jardine.

A little context first as to why this bird’s eye view of an old plane is so interesting:

• A cult commune of 7,000 build an amazing infrastructure in rural Oregon on part of a 64,000 acre parcel of land
• A fleet of 90 Rolls Royces and several jets
• Attempt to take over neighboring city Antelope, OR
• Bussing in hundreds of homeless people to help sway an election
• Poisoning 750 people in a neighboring city
• Assassination plots
• Uzis
• The leader attempting to flee the country (maybe even in this very plane)

The plane you see here was that of the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh - the head of the cult described above. It was purchased by Ed Guidicelli of Sheffield, Ohio who wants to turn it into a Bed & Breakfast and as a result is facing some zoning problems with the city. [Boing Boing & AP articles]

Jason, one of the two people who run Bird’s Eye Tourist, spent some time at the ranch in 2000 - a year after it was purchased by Young Life. He saw firsthand the expanse of what had been built and how Young Life transformed the existing infrastructure and numerous buildings into something much more postive.

Youtube movie about the rise and fall of the cult - 8min.

Via Boing Boing and courtesy of Steve Lombardi.

Wow! This is one of the best shots we’ve ever shown of an aircraft in flight. See past planes in flight here.

Contributed by AirPierre.

This B-58A (nicknamed Snoopy) was the sixth B-58 to be built . It was used, at one time, to test radar systems for the GAR-9/AIM-47 missile for the F-108 Rapier and later the YF-12A.

In order to fit the rather large AN/ASG-18 fire control system into the B-58A, nearly seven feet had to be added to the overall length of the aircraft (that explains why it looks a little odd).

Snoopy was eventually placed out in the open on the photo test range at Edwards AFB. Note the photo resolution targets just to the south of the plane used to calibrate and test the accuracy of aerial photos.

There are more planes and targets along a long line to the ENE and WSW. [check-six.com]

Contributed by Kevin.

Here is a Boeing 727-200 airliner that someone has converted into a private residence in Portland, Oregon. See ground level pictures here. The plane cost $100,000 and he spent another $100,000 to move and set it up his new 1,066 square foot home.

Contributed by Kevin & Eric Kaplan.

The NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, CA is home to the world’s largest wind tunnel. You’re going to want to scroll around the different angles to see all of it. You will also see many other smaller wind tunnels nearby.

Areodynamic research on commercial, military jets and the Space Shuttle has been conducted here for years. Notice the scale model of the Space Shuttle and other aircraft in the lefthand image. According to Space.com, the big Wind Tunnel will be used to test parachutes for the 2009 Mars Science Laboratory just like it was used for the parachutes on the Mars Exploration Rovers. [wikipedia]

Contributed by John Foot.

Here is a close-up shot of a North West Airlines jet approaching SeaTac Airport in Seattle, WA.

Contributed by Pdunn & Steve Lombardi.

Frecce Tricolori (Three-coloured Arrows) is the precision aerobatic demonstration team for the Italian Air Force. The team flies the Aermacchi MB-339-A/PAN, a two-seat fighter-trainer and anti-tank craft capable of roughly 898 km/h at sea level. [wikipedia link]

Contributed by Kevin.

The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, four-engined airliner manufactured by EADS (Airbus S.A.S.) It first flew on April 27, 2005 from Toulouse, France. Commercial flights are scheduled to begin in 2007 after some lengthy delays.

The A380’s upper deck extends along the entire length of the fuselage. This allows for a spacious cabin with 50% more floor space than the next largest airliner, the Boeing 747-400, and provides seating for 555 people in standard three-class economy class configuration, or up to 853 people in full economy class configuration. [wikipedia]

Contributed by Kevin.

Similar to the American Super guppy.

Featuring the most voluminous cargo hold of any civil or military aircraft flying today, the Airbus Beluga offers a unique way to transport oversized air cargo.

The Beluga (also known as the A300-600ST Super Transporter) was developed to carry complete sections of Airbus aircraft from different production sites around Europe to the final assembly lines in Toulouse or Hamburg. Its main-deck cargo volume is greater than the C5 Galaxy, the An-124 or the C-17 airlifters.

Contributed by Kevin.