A flight instructor in Alaska bought 3 disused cargo planes and is turning them into Airbnbs — take a look at the project

Bianca GiacoboneApr 14, 2023, 16:06 IST

Flight school AlaskaCourtesy of Jon Kotwicki/FLY8MA

Flight instructor Jon Kotwicki bought three old planes and brought them to his school in Alaska.
He's turning them into luxury accommodations for flying students and tourists.

Jon Kotwicki was building out cabins at his flight school in Alaska for his aviation students when he thought it would be "neat" to find some old aircraft and build accommodations into them.

Courtesy of Jon Kotwicki/FLY8MA

Jon Kotwicki was building out cabins at his flight school in Alaska for his aviation students when he thought it would be "neat" to find some old aircraft and build accommodations into them.

Kotwicki, who's originally from Florida and moved to Alaska six years ago, is the owner of FLY8MA flying school, 30 miles north of Anchorage.

Courtesy of Jon Kotwicki/FLY8MA

"It was about six months of calling every single person I know that might know something about some old aircraft parked somewhere that had been abandoned or wasn't being utilized any longer," he told Insider.

Courtesy of Jon Kotwicki/FLY8MA

"It was about six months of calling every single person I know that might know something about some old aircraft parked somewhere that had been abandoned or wasn't being utilized any longer," he told Insider.

Finally, he found a Douglas DC-6. "Hey, if one airplane is good, then two would be even better. And then that quickly turned into three. And so now we have three aircraft here total," he said.

Courtesy of Jon Kotwicki/FLY8MA

Finally, he found a Douglas DC-6. "Hey, if one airplane is good, then two would be even better. And then that quickly turned into three. And so now we have three aircraft here total," he said.

The three disused cargo planes, a DC-6, a Douglas DC-9, and a Boeing 727, are being converted into accommodations for the flight school's students, and tourists.

Courtesy of Jon Kotwicki/FLY8MA

The Boeing 727 is the largest aircraft in Kotwicki's fleet. Plans for it include a bedroom with a private entrance through airstairs at the rear of the plane, and decks onto the wings and the tail section.

Courtesy of Jon Kotwicki/FLY8MA

The Boeing 727 is the largest aircraft in Kotwicki's fleet. Plans for it include a bedroom with a private entrance through airstairs at the rear of the plane, and decks onto the wings and the tail section.

The decks will be public spaces for anyone spending the night at the flight school.

Courtesy of Jon Kotwicki/FLY8MA

The project includes a hot tub on one of the wing decks.

Courtesy of Jon Kotwicki/FLY8MA

The DC-9 and the DC-6 will be turned into private apartments, including a kitchen, full-size bathroom, washer, dryer, heated tiles.

Courtesy of Jon Kotwicki/FLY8MA

"The theory of having an airplane as a home is neat, but why not have an aircraft that you could live in that's a luxury sort of space," Kotwicki said.

Courtesy of Jon Kotwicki/FLY8MA

Kotwicki plans to rent out the spaces on Airbnb for $200 to $700 a night, depending on the aircraft.

Courtesy of Jon Kotwicki/FLY8MA

The DC-6 is planned to be ready to host people starting in June, while the other two planes are scheduled for the winter.

Courtesy of Jon Kotwicki/FLY8MA

The flying school is located in Big Lake Alaska, which is popular as both a summer and a winter tourism destination.

Courtesy of Jon Kotwicki/FLY8MA

The new accommodation will complement the cabins already built on the site.

Courtesy of Jon Kotwicki/FLY8MA

Kotwicki, who's not an architect but says he likes figuring things out, is working on refurbishing the planes with a construction team of 5 people.

Courtesy of Jon Kotwicki/FLY8MA

If finding the aircraft was challenging, transporting them was no easy task.

Courtesy of Jon Kotwicki/FLY8MA

He says he had to pay for specialty tools to disassemble the planes, cranes, escort cars, and road closures.

Courtesy of Jon Kotwicki/FLY8MA

Kotwicki says he has a budget of $600,000 to $800,000 per aircraft. Of that, $100,000 to $200,000 went into disassembling and transporting them.

Courtesy of Jon Kotwicki/FLY8MA

"People joke and tell me to make sure to put in the really tiny tables and chairs in the planes, and put them as tight as possible to give the authentic airplane feel," he said."'But no, we're not trying to make people feel squished or crammed. We want people to have this really cool experience, but do it comfortably."

Courtesy of Jon Kotwicki/FLY8MA

"People joke and tell me to make sure to put in the really tiny tables and chairs in the planes, and put them as tight as possible to give the authentic airplane feel," he said."'But no, we're not trying to make people feel squished or crammed. We want people to have this really cool experience, but do it comfortably."

I flew from Tokyo to LA on Japan's largest airline. The spacious and comfortable cabin made the 10-hour ride easy.

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A flight instructor in Alaska bought 3 disused cargo planes and is turning them into Airbnbs &mdash; take a look at the project

Jon Kotwicki was building out cabins at his flight school in Alaska for his aviation students when he thought it would be "neat" to find some old aircraft and build accommodations into them.

Kotwicki, who's originally from Florida and moved to Alaska six years ago, is the owner of FLY8MA flying school, 30 miles north of Anchorage.

"It was about six months of calling every single person I know that might know something about some old aircraft parked somewhere that had been abandoned or wasn't being utilized any longer," he told Insider.

Finally, he found a Douglas DC-6. "Hey, if one airplane is good, then two would be even better. And then that quickly turned into three. And so now we have three aircraft here total," he said.

The three disused cargo planes, a DC-6, a Douglas DC-9, and a Boeing 727, are being converted into accommodations for the flight school's students, and tourists.

The Boeing 727 is the largest aircraft in Kotwicki's fleet. Plans for it include a bedroom with a private entrance through airstairs at the rear of the plane, and decks onto the wings and the tail section.

The decks will be public spaces for anyone spending the night at the flight school.

The project includes a hot tub on one of the wing decks.

The DC-9 and the DC-6 will be turned into private apartments, including a kitchen, full-size bathroom, washer, dryer, heated tiles.

"The theory of having an airplane as a home is neat, but why not have an aircraft that you could live in that's a luxury sort of space," Kotwicki said.

Kotwicki plans to rent out the spaces on Airbnb for $200 to $700 a night, depending on the aircraft.

The DC-6 is planned to be ready to host people starting in June, while the other two planes are scheduled for the winter.

The flying school is located in Big Lake Alaska, which is popular as both a summer and a winter tourism destination.

The new accommodation will complement the cabins already built on the site.

Kotwicki, who's not an architect but says he likes figuring things out, is working on refurbishing the planes with a construction team of 5 people.

If finding the aircraft was challenging, transporting them was no easy task.

He says he had to pay for specialty tools to disassemble the planes, cranes, escort cars, and road closures.

Kotwicki says he has a budget of $600,000 to $800,000 per aircraft. Of that, $100,000 to $200,000 went into disassembling and transporting them.

A flight instructor in Alaska bought 3 disused cargo planes and is turning them into Airbnbs — take a look at the project