Salon :: Tech & Business

Ask the pilot: The strange underworld of airliner porn, and the geeks who make it happen

Next time your favorite television show makes a trip to the airport, look closely at that jetliner cabin scene. Chances are it's one of Richard Chan's warehouse planes. Chan is the founder and CEO of Aero Mock-Ups, a facility in North Hollywood, Calif., stocked with replica fuselage sections and thousands of aviation-themed props. He has been in business for 20 years, having built the entertainment industry's premier go-to facility.

From the street, the low-slung cluster of sheds, pallets and storage containers would pass for a salvage yard if it weren't for the orange windsock that flies above the office. Passersby would be startled to know that hundreds of shows, motion pictures and commercials have been filmed here. Hanging on a back wall are the autographed pictures of the many Hollywood heavyweights who've passed through.

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