Where do aircraft go to die? Surprisingly it's not alway the scrapheap.
Aircraft at the end of their flying lives are no longer just being sent to the scrapheap for dismantling and crushing. Recently, architects, entrepreneurs and aircraft lovers have found more practical, if unusual, purposes for retired aircraft.
The spectacular Costa Verde plane hotel Image: Vincent Castello |
Perhaps the most obvious choice is conversion into acommodation for people who think that a flight to their holiday destination just isn't enough.
The most spectacular example has to be the Hotel Costa Verde in Costa Rica, where guests are housed in a spectacular conversion of a Boeing 727, including a 'plane house' extension over the shortened wings.
Other unusual ideas include a Boeing 307 Stratoliner converted into a boat, an Ilyushin IL-18 re-purposed into hotel suites and a Boeing 747 hostel. Aircraft components also come in handy for a variety of purposes. For example, 747 wings forming the roof of a designer house in Malibu; an engine cowl as a reception desk; a captain's seat as an office chair and food storage trollies as wine or filing cabinets.
Saving aircraft from being crushed and shredded has clearly become an artform.