I’m a flight instructor who converted an old cargo plane into an Airbnb and home for my students. Here’s how I did it.

• Jon Kotwicki, a flight instructor bought an airplane and turned it into a house for his students.
• After buying the airplane he had to decide how he would get the 117-foot-wide aircraft home.
• The furnished airplane sleeps six people and Jon is now putting a hot tub on the plane’s wing.  

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jon Kotwicki, a 32-year-old flight instructor in Alaska, who turned an old cargo plane into an Airbnb. It has been edited for length and clarity.

About five years ago, I moved from Florida to Alaska. At the time, I had this idea of starting a flight school where my students could go up in a small airplane and learn to fly. I had a big vision for it. I wanted to have a proper runway and cabins for them to live in, but I didn’t want to stop there.