A farmer is to offer holiday makers the billionaire lifestyle aboard a private jet… as long as they don’t mind remaining in his field.
Iain Gall splashed out £25,000 on the aircraft – formerly used by a Russian tycoon to fly between Moscow and the Caribbean – after spotting it on eBay.
And after travelling to Yorkshire to seal the deal last month, he is now setting up the Hawker 700 as a luxury holiday let at Glenskinno Farm, near Montrose in Angus.
Iain, 35, said: “I know everybody is always looking for something special and people love posting pictures of something unusual or quirky on social media.
“Years ago I’d watched an episode of George Clark’s amazing spaces where someone had transformed a plane, so I thought that could really be something different.
“The person I bought it from told me it was once owned by a Russian who used it to move things around between the Caribbean and Moscow, so you can only imagine what it was up to.
“I don’t know how it ended up back in the UK but, for some reason, it came back in bits, so something happened.
“It’s estimated to be about 40 years old and has possibly had several owners. Because it’s all been stripped out, there isn’t any way of tracking who they were.”
Iain says the jet will need sprucing up before being rented out as self-catering accommodation for couples. Last week the plane was transported from Yorkshire by lorry but, due to bad weather, had to be unloaded at Montrose Port.
Iain is now waiting for better weather to transport the plane to his farm and hopes to welcome guests from the spring of 2023.
Iain, who is a Scottish Conservative councillor, added: “It’s in really good condition but just needs tarted up and we’re looking forward to welcoming people on board next year.
“We will put it on site with a hot tub, outside kitchen, stove area and have it all screened off.
“The cockpit has been pulled out and turned into a bedroom and there has been an extension on the back, which has been turned into a big en suite.”
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