With the growing price of real estate, it should come as no surprise to anyone that people are looking toward sustainable and unique places of residence. One simply has to look at the rise in homes that have been converted from tiny homes, buses, and shipping containers. Interestingly, all the options allow for a far lower cost and can be customized completely to traditional accommodations. One such individual, Jo Ann Ussery, decided to follow through on this before it was cool and hence created her own home a few years before it had became trendy. For this, she purchased an old Boeing 727, which she then upcycled into a home that had a lot of luxurious features.
Unusual Homes- The Boeing 727
This converted Boeing 727 home’s story began three decades ago when Ussery’s home in Benoit, Mississippi, was destroyed. She and her children had to find a place where they would be able to live, and unfortunately, she didn’t have a lot to her name. Her husband had passed away as well, and she thought that moving into a trailer would probably answer their problems, but she wasn’t able to afford any homes that would be large enough to handle three people. This is when her brother-in-law, air traffic controller Bob, came into the picture and asked her to try living on a plane.
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The Little Trump
Needless to say, Ussery’s desperation to find a place won over her apprehension of living inside a plane. She then went on a tour of the Boeing 727 that had been retired recently and was supposed to be destined for the scrap yard. Ussery fell in love with it instantly and was able to purchase it for just $2,000 plus the cost of shipping the entire plane to her property. She also named her plane the Little Trump, because the former President also owned a private jet.
Renovations Begun
With a shed over her head, she decided to renovate the entire plane- which was neither cheap nor easy. Overall, she spent just under $30,000 on the renovation. It was pretty time-consuming, as not only did she need to work on the interior, but she also had to make sure that it wouldn’t shift out of place. Luck was on her side, as her property boasted of a natural lake, which added its own decorative feature- and she decided to hang the plane in a manner so the nose hung over the lake.
Read: Couple Turned Two Shipping Containers Into Beautiful Home In Less Than 10 Months
This Woman Converted A Plane Into Her Home, Which She Lived In
This required that the plane’s tail be anchored extremely well with concrete. After that, she decided to work on the interior, which gave her over 1500 square feet of living space. For those wondering, the Boeing 727 is 138 feet long and has 76 windows that run along the side. Since Ussery could not open the windows- for commercial aircraft, have them locked in place, it wasn’t a problem as she had air conditioning installed. She also managed to get proper flooring and insulation. The only parts of the plane that stayed were a single airplane bathroom and the overhead bins.
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Not too Shabby!
Once Ussery managed to deal with the larger modifications, she was able to bring about new details and luxuries. The renovated Boeing 727 now has three bedrooms, a small bathroom, a full kitchen, a living space, and a dedicated laundry room. The home also boasts a washing machine and a dryer- along with a telephone and an oven. But what can really be considered to be the jewel in the crown would be the modifications that she made to the cockpit that overlooks the lake. She managed to turn it into a master bathroom, which also has a luxurious hot tub.
The way the Boeing 727 has been designed would make one feel as if they were still airborne. Interestingly, Ussery did most of the renovations on her own, and as it turns out, she lived on this plane from 1995 to 1999 before she ended up displaying it to the public. Unfortunately, it fell down when it was being moved and was absolutely destroyed beyond repair.
Keep Reading: The Life Of The Man Who Lives In The Middle Of The Forest In An Abandoned Plane (+ Photos)
Sources
- “This Boeing 727 Turned Dream Home Is Just Plane Awesome.” Abandon Spaces. Rosemary Giles February 9, 2023.
- “Woman transforms huge Boeing plane into fully functional home complete with hot tub” Metro.