A retired passenger jet has found an unexpected new home beneath a backyard in England, where its owner is turning the aircraft cabin into an underground "man cave."
The unusual project began with a £4,000 ($5,340) purchase and required a huge crane to lower the fuselage into place.
Here's what to know
According to the BBC, content creator and business owner Dave Billings bought the former Bmibaby Boeing 737-500 section through Facebook Marketplace for £4,000.
Billings plans to connect the cabin to an existing room under his backyard. Volunteers helped lower the aircraft section into position beneath the lawn using a crane.
"The worst thing if you're buying a Boeing 737 is how do you go and get it?" Billings said, per the BBC. "Then another friend of mine messaged saying, 'If you buy it I'll load it for you. … It went from there, really."
More background
According to the BBC, the aircraft was built in 1993 and made its final flight in 2013. The aircraft received the name Pudsey Baby in 2009 to support the BBC Children in Need appeal.
TCD Picks » Quince Spotlight
💡These best-sellers from Quince deliver affordable, sustainable luxury for all
When he was still considering the purchase, Billings encountered objections from the first friend he consulted, who called the idea "silly," and from his wife, Beth, who questioned why he wanted "a pile of junk."
His seven-year-old son, however, encouraged him to buy it.
Billings worked out how to join the fuselage to the existing underground room by making a scale model with a 3D printer.
He has set a February completion target and intends to seek retrospective planning permission.
The installation is documented on his YouTube channel (@Tornado_Dave) alongside Billings' other projects since 2021 and has an audience exceeding 329,000 subscribers. Billings attached a GoPro-style camera to the crane before lifting began, providing one of several angles used to film the operation.
Where can I learn more?
Billings' buried jet brings together two ideas other homeowners have explored: building underground and converting unusual spaces.
• An Alabama homeowner seeking an underground tornado shelter heard that $20,000 wouldn't cover it.
• In Britain, a prepper with a £315,000 ($417,000) bunker urged families to stock cash, food, and supplies.
• A homeowner's $18,000 battery bank stores 216 kWh inside its own concrete bunker.
• A U.K. couple converted an ex-military truck into a cozy off-grid home after feeling boxed in.
• After seven years in a van, a man converted a shed in New Mexico for $12,000.
Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.
Cool Picks
