Biggest MOOP in the history of Burning Man

[lucky420]

Road trip and soak at Trego?

Anyone?

I’m in but no soak

[motskyroonmatick]

Road trip and soak at Trego?

Anyone?

If only I lived closer!
I know right where it is and want to visit it in the late spring to see how shot up it gets. It's going to be visible from a frequently used road. Hopefully Frog Pond and Trego have a cleaner bill of health when I make the trip.

[Token]

Too far for me too. Two hours just to Reno.

[Ano]

Ah, yeah, about that plane.... and the towing...

https://i.imgur.com/5l3Ku9O.jpg

It didn't make it. These guys definitely did not realize that the playa gets significantly softer on the edges.

This, right here, is what we called "FUCKED" with more caps than that. Ah, yeah, and that's before they figure out how to get the plane across this playa.

Did we forget that the desert is rapidly cooling, and rain is in the near-ish future?

And this, folks, is how we permanently piss off the BLM and the locals even moreso than usual.

[GroundStart]

The location will be a closely-guarded secret in order to keep vandals from visiting the project with spray paint cans, torque wrenches, or whatever other tools they’d use for mischief.

Torque wrenches, for mischief? Oh, article. Go lay down.
Paint cans would only do it good. Besides hand rails, a rave, and the inability to fly, it looks bone stock.
Presently the biggest and therefore best artistic expression of Burning Man is not a thing Ken Feldman built. Boeing built that thing, and the same thing can be seen at any regional airport.

[Lonesomebri]

During this past summer I made it up to the playa and saw the 747 upper chassis in storage in Empire, being used as a cover for hundreds of rusting bikes. Now, that was impressive!

[motskyroonmatick]

Ah, yeah, about that plane.... and the towing...

https://i.imgur.com/5l3Ku9O.jpg

Thanks for the update!

Time to bring in a semi load of wood crane mats, 3 excavators with thumbs and an offroad forklift.

[Molotov]

During this past summer I made it up to the playa and saw the 747 upper chassis in storage in Empire, being used as a cover for hundreds of rusting bikes. Now, that was impressive!

I always said that upper shell would make some farmer a hell of a hay barn.

[Captain Goddammit]

Here’s a quote to consider:

“I will never criticize anyone who spends time, effort and money trying to entertain me for free.”

[The Rod]

Here’s a quote to consider:

“I will never criticize anyone who spends time, effort and money trying to entertain me for free.”

Then wtf are you doing on Eplaya?

[Luigi]

Those last few feet are a bitch. Good news is no rain in the forecast.

Burning Man volunteers rescue the 747 airplane from the desert:

https://www.rgj.com/story/life/arts/bur ... 381601002/

[Jackass]

there's no road to get where they're going and that thing is going to crush whatever it crosses. Need a permit to move it now? That's going to be interesting...

I stand by my previous comments... So much for all of that "ground prep", that was fake news.

[lucky420]

Here’s a quote to consider:

“I will never criticize anyone who spends time, effort and money trying to entertain me for free.”

Then wtf are you doing on Eplaya?

Hahahahaha

[Captain Goddammit]

Here’s a quote to consider:

“I will never criticize anyone who spends time, effort and money trying to entertain me for free.”

Then wtf are you doing on Eplaya?

Solid point, solid point...

[GroundStart]

Here’s a quote to consider:

“I will never criticize anyone who spends time, effort and money trying to entertain me for free.”

That would be agreeable if it weren't chewing up the desert and getting Burning Man long, lasting stares from umpteen Nevada government agencies. Embarrassing articles by papers who think this is what BRC is, people calling it an art car. Nothing about it was free, it is a cost.

I would pause to criticize:
If someone builds a thing, with their hands and their heart
If the creator upholds or at least acknowledges the Principles
If the creator cares for, feeds and cleans up after their thing

Boeing built a big plane, a lot of people worked hard to put it in a desert, it has speakers. There's novelty yes, but I build my own stuff, I would not be able to sell this. Well done those who did. You've found your herd. You've made me rethink what it does/not take to amuse Burners. Now get the thing that Boeing built out of there. I'd like to play on a 747, but not at cost to Nevada, the BORG, and the ethos of Burning Man.

Additional reading: To see a plane converted to something artsy and fun, and what my backyard was for a few years, image search the St Louis City Museum.

[Traveller in Time]

What if "big imagination" hires some airlifting helicopters and lift it to storage. Would make it a valid Mutant Vehicle in the same effort

[Ratty]

[Ano]

I'm willing to put down money, right now, on this:

This 747 isn't making it back to Burning Man. It's going to have to get scrapped because it's going to get stuck on playa in such a way that recovery is monetarily improbable. It's already starting to get there, if those front wheels are any indication.

I would care more if these guys built something beautiful for the community. I'm a rave barge apologist - I love me some Robot Heart or Mayan Warrior - but this rave barge is pure hubris. This is a gigantic sound system for no reason. It isn't unique except that it's a 747.

And they've absolutely failed at leaving no trace. I can decode bullshit - the fact that the CEO led with reasons to feel bad for him before saying "We won't give up!" indicates to me that this thing is going terribly wrong. They're going to run out of volunteer goodwill soon. Those trucks are expensive. And, IIRC, rain is forecast soon.

This is one buttfuck of a situation right here.

[XPTom]

They are learning about center of gravity. Normal CG should be close to the mains and only a small fraction of weight on the nose gear. What is happening to the nose gear is what predictably happens when one kid gets off the end of the teeter totter. If anybody from Boeing is listening this would be a good chance to volunteer an educated guess on aft ballast..... 40K or 50? I dunno exactly.

[caffeineslinger]

So Cap’n, you saying I can get an old Cessna, sawzall the wings off and it’s an MV?

Not questioning the whole 747 as art thing, just the logic behind the MV thinking.

Would my John Deere riding mower be OK?

Or a 350C Crawler Bulldozer?

[Jackass]

Without some serious modifications to the plane they will not be able to go any further uphill, it only gets softer ahead and impossible to where they plan on parking it. Even if they did get it into place, it could be a long while (years) before they can bring it out of storage between weather, ground conditions, and permits.

It's going to have to end up going out the same way it came in.
The sooner they admit that, the sooner this will all be over...

[Sham]

Maybe they could add a few engines and fly that thing out of there.

[Captain Goddammit]

It's so much easier than they are making it, they're simply using the wrong machines.
I think a D9 would drag it wherever it needs to be. Those things weigh over 100,000 pounds by themselves and have a 70-ton pull.
They haven't quit working on moving it, so it hasn't been mooped.

No one seems to have a problem with boats or couches or carpets being MVs, why not planes?

[danibel]

It's going to have to end up going out the same way it came in.
The sooner they admit that, the sooner this will all be over...

This is the part I don't understand. Why aren't they dismantling it and hauling it off? What is the current situation?

[Captain Goddammit]

"Dismantling" would mean cutting it up into little pieces. It was way too expensive and too much work to have it be just a one-time throwaway.
You wouldn't.

[danibel]

It came onto the playa in three pieces, why can't it leave that way again? This whole thing is a shitshow.

But the memes are funny. so. there is that.

[Kishri]

Well, the clock is ticking. After a warm week this coming week, they're predicting rain producing storms around the 1st of Oct. If they don't get the plane off the playa by then, and it really does rain, then they are doomed. Here's hoping that they can succeed before the weather turns bad.

Of course, I am wondering that if they do manage to get the plane parked and stored, how do they plan on getting it back to BRC next year (if they are allowed to)? After all, wouldn't they have to track back through this soft playa edge again? I think they may need to find a new storage place.

Lastly, I don't think this will threaten the event, but I sure can see new regulations arising out of this. And yeah, I can see this becoming an excuse for the BLM to increase fees, which in turn, will passed on to us as increased ticket prices.

[maladroit]

No one seems to have a problem with boats or couches or carpets being MVs, why not planes?

It's definitely harder to get any new motorized couches approved these days.

But you make a good point. Next year I'll buy a scrapped Cessna 172 fuselage, weld all the doors shut, and drag it around behind an ordinary car. Inside will be a party so exclusive that I'm not even allowed in. Should breeze through DMV with that setup.

[Captain Goddammit]

Motorized couches still get approved. The ones in recent years that don’t are the couches simply screwed on top of a motorized platform.

[Canoe]

... I know right where it is and want to visit it in the late spring to see how shot up it gets...

I take it the 'owners' aren't familiar with rural.
At least there's bound to be some that hit low and let the water drain out that gets in from the higher holes. Wonder if it already has some drain holes.