Man turns 1940s plane into road-legal luxury camper van ‘The Fabulous Flamingo’
- The RV was made by converting a 1943 ‘Douglas R4D’ aircraft
- It took three years to build the vehicle fully
- It was done using what the man dubbed “hillbilly science”
Published on Apr 10, 2024 at 2:45 PM (UTC+4)
by Nalin Rawat
Last updated on Apr 10, 2024 at 3:10 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
A US Air Force retiree from Nashville, Michigan has turned a 1940s-era plane into a road-legal luxury camper van.
Gino Lucci had dreamed of building his own RV, just like the rest of his family, since he was eight years old.
And now he has gone above and beyond by converting a 1943 ‘Douglas R4D’ aircraft into a fully functioning camper van.
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It took the US Air Force veteran three attempts, but he finally made the tiny home of his dreams.
It is not the first time we have seen an aircraft being converted into a ground vehicle.
We recently heard about an uber-rich dude from the Middle East who converted his Boeing 747 into a flying palace.
Dubbed the ‘Fabulous Flamingo’, the camper van is named after a 40s-era jet fighter called the Fabulous Phantoms.
The US Navy used the aircraft in the run-up to the Korean War.
But how did he get his hands on such an old airplane?
According to an interview with Ridiculous Rides, Gino’s son had found the fuselage of the plane.
It was in a wreck in Missouri, where it had been grounded for 30 years.
It was last used by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as a test craft but was left in poor condition after being taken out by a tornado.
The retired US Air Force veteran was able to put together the camper van, using what he calls ‘hillbilly science’.
After around three years of work, the luxury camper van is ready to be lived in with three bedrooms.
In a very similar case, a woman bought a decommissioned Boeing 777 and turned it into her dream home.
The camper van still has the FAA crest on its side, but Gino also added lights, indicators, and wing mirrors to the body.
Gino and his sons fused the plane with the chassis of an old delivery truck he owned.
In the end, it cost him a total of $20,000.
But, it was worth it in the end, and Gino was finally able to make his dream luxury camper van by converting an airplane into an RV.
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Nalin started his career by working with various national newspapers in India. He has also worked as a writer/editor for many popular websites, while still pursuing his journalism and mass communication degree. Working as a digital nomad has allowed him to inform and educate through his work. When he is not writing, you can find him playing video games or travelling the mountains on his bike.
