Photo Set #1 Here are photos from my first aerial Ranch flyby, from Friday, April 24, 1998.  My friend Ben Saucer and I took off in a helicopter from Van Nuys Airport, and got these birds-eye views of the facility.  Many of these images have high-resolution versions available.  I've also included a great old aerial shot of the Ranch that I found, dating back to around 1960!

Photo Set #2 This much-closer view of the Ranch was taken in the afternoon on Sunday, January 17, 1999, in an open-door helicopter I picked up at LAX.  As you can see here, the Griswalds' house was all dressed up for the hit movie American Beauty.  These photos almost fell out of the helicopter when I put the camera away, so thankfully they are still with us.  (With my luck, they'd have landed in the Ranch POOL...)

Video #1 I also took home video on my April 24, 1998 helicopter ride.  Here are some stills from over Burbank and the Ranch.  The last two shots give you a good perspective on where the studio lies in relation to those tall buildings.  We also flew by the famous Hollywood sign just for fun!  (You can see those images in the Burbank Area section of this website.)

Video #2 You guessed it!  I also had the video camera along for my January 1999 aerial excursion.  As in Photo Set #2 above, this is a much closer look at the Ranch, including shots of the old entrance and guard shack not appearing in the photos.  I spent the entire next day at the Ranch, where I measured the façades for my drawings, took a bunch of video images and watched them shoot most of the exterior shots for American Beauty.

Satellite Images Finally, here is a collection of three satellite images I've collected over the years.  The first is from the same engine that you can use to view your own aerial imagery at www.mapquest.com.  The other two are not as close-up, but show the Ranch and nearby Burbank.  Check 'em out!