With tiny houses and renovated busses taking the housing world by storm, there’s one thing that’s been missing: the luxury RV… made from an old airplane. Home and decor channels on the TV are always showing how incredible small spaces can really be. Turning shipping containers into full-fledged homes looks easy enough, right? In fact, there’s an entire tiny house movement that is taking over the housing market.
The tiny-house movement is an architectural and social movement that advocates for downsizing living spaces, simplifying, and essentially “living with less.” According to the 2018 International Residential Code, Appendix Q Tiny Houses, a tiny house is a “dwelling unit with a maximum of 37 square metres of floor area, excluding lofts.”
While tiny housing primarily represents a return to simpler living, the movement was also regarded as a potential eco-friendly solution to the existing housing industry, as well as a feasible transitional option for individuals experiencing a lack of shelter.
Wikipedia
But what if you wanted to turn an abandoned plane into a luxury RV? Now, that might be a bit more complicated.
The Fabulous Flamingo Luxury RV
Air Force retiree Gino Lucci comes from a long line of RV builders. His dad was a luxury RV restorer, and his dad was before him too. So, it’s no surprise that Gino followed in their footsteps. When Gino spotted the fuselage of a Douglas R4D military transport aircraft, it was love at first sight.
Gino created the luxury RV called the Fabulous Flamingo by fusing the plane to the chassis of an International DuraStar 4400 delivery truck. With the help of his sons, they put the entire thing together in just under a year.
Sadly, the luxury RV isn’t quite roadworthy. It’s just half an inch or about 1.27cm under the street-legal definition in Michigan. At 11.6 meters long and standing 3.81 meters tall, it would certainly be something to see on your daily commute to work.
Gino says he named it the Flamingo because of how much his wife loves the pink birds. There are even some flamingo displays and toys throughout the RV.
Read: Man Converts Ambulance Into Tiny Home on Wheels for $13,000
Cost and the Future
According to Hackerday, the total cost for building this luxury RV was close to $20,000. Gino and his sons had to build and disassemble the hybrid vehicle 3 times before getting everything right.
The plane’s intercom, as per Gino, actually still works making it a cool addition to the luxury RV. With that, the Fabulous Flamingo still keeps most of its vintage style with the modern additions that most modern restoration RVs have.
Tech Times
You may be wondering about this strange hybrid. Several questions are likely running around in your head. How fast can this amazing plane-delivery truck vehicle go? How did Gino and his sons manage to put the fuselage of a plane on a truck? Was there anything mechanically impossible they had to navigate during the build?
Well, all of those questions and more can be answered by watching the video below.
Keep Reading: This Solar-Powered RV Runs Without Fuel Or Charging Stations
Sources
- “ABANDONED AIRPLANE TAKES OFF AGAIN AS LUXURY RV.” Hackaday. December 4, 2021
- “Abandoned Plane Turned Luxury RV Cost $20,000 to Make | Introducing the ‘Fabulous Flamingo’” TechTimes. Urian B. December 4, 2021
- “I Turned A Plane Into A Luxury RV | RIDICULOUS RIDES.” YouTube. November 18, 2021