Inside The DC-6 Turned Airbnb By An Alaskan Flight Instructor

You may have heard of the Jumbo Stay Hotel in Stockholm where guests can stay inside a decommissioned Boeing 747. However, you don't have to go to Sweden to rent a room inside a retired aircraft.

Today, we will look at an amazing case of a former DC-6 cargo aircraft recently converted into an Airbnb. 

Backstory

Jon Kotwicki is a flight instructor who moved from Florida to Alaska, the last frontier. Shortly after this monumental move, Kotwicki decided to take on a massive task for the benefit of his students.

He decided to purchase an old Douglas DC-6 and convert it into an Airbnb and a live-in school. Kotwicki's students would have the ultimate aviation experience, learning how to fly planes while sitting inside a retired plane and living in that plane.

Jon told Business Insider, "I wanted to have a proper runway and cabins for them to live in but I didn't want it to stop there. I started thinking, instead of cabins, what if my students could live in an airplane? I knew that would be much cooler."

He started searching for a plane to convert in 2022 which was a task easier said than done. It's difficult to purchase retired aircraft since many of them are sent off to the scrapper or placed in storage. After six months, Jon finally procured a 1956-built Douglas DC-6 that most recently hauled cargo around Alaska with Everts Air Cargo.

The Conversion

Converting a retired plane to a full-on, livable Airbnb or a flight school is no easy task. Jon, along with some help, traveled to Fairbanks, Alaska where the DC-6 was located, and began to disassemble it.

It took the trio four days, working 16-hour shifts, to remove every bolt and also cut off the wings for ease of transport. They used cranes and forklifts to lift the heavier parts and place them onto trailers.

Everything was driven 350 miles to Jon's property in Wasilla, Alaska. Once everything arrived without issue, the next task was to assemble it all.

Jon spent just over $100,000 from buying to transporting the plane. Making the aircraft livable involved insulating it to keep its inhabitants warm especially from the cold Alaskan weather. The process of insulating the fuselage and ensuring that there was good airflow took around five months.

Jon says that this entire process involved a lot of "trial and error" which is understandable because it's not every day that you're converting a retired plane into a living area.

An oil boiler was installed in the tail area to provide heating during colder months. The plane is also connected to its own water source and septic system. Kotwicki also noted that the plane got a pressure tank allowing guests to take normal showers.

The End Result

Although it was a long and grueling process, the aircraft came out better than anyone could have imagined. It covers roughly 650 square feet of space and features a living area, a full kitchen, two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a BBQ grill on the wing. The aircraft can sleep six people in total.

Jon kept the DC-6's original cockpit which also doubles as a coffee station. The aircraft's exit doors remain in place and one of the propellers is on display in the living room. Students who live in the DC-6 are provided this accommodation in their training packages. Jon says that he gets students coming from all over the country. Understandably, they're always blown away when they pull up to this unique living accommodation for the first time.

While the DC-6 was originally converted for students, Jon also rents it out on Airbnb for $200-700 a night depending on the season.

He plans to develop the site further by adding a hot tub on one of the wings. However, this project will be starting sometime next Spring.

This also isn't the end for Jon when it comes to converting old planes. He and his partner Stephanie purchased an old Boeing 727 and are currently working to convert that too.