Bmibaby plane lifted into Hilton back garden as underground bunker takes shape

Dave Billings, a 45-year-old resident of Hilton, Derbyshire, recently undertook a rather unusual project in his backyard. He purchased the fuselage of a retired Bmibaby Boeing 737-500 for £4,000 through an online listing and had it lowered into a large hole dug into his lawn using a massive crane. When questioned about his motivation, Dave simply responded, “Why not?” The fuselage was positioned with the help of several volunteers and will be transformed into an underground “man cave,” eventually linking to an existing subterranean room beneath his garden.

Originally built in 1993, the aircraft served holidaymakers flying out of East Midlands Airport until its final flight in 2013. Notably, in 2009, this particular plane was named Pudsey Baby in support of the BBC Children in Need charity. Dave first spotted the fuselage advertised on Facebook Marketplace. While one friend dismissed the idea as “silly,” it was Dave’s seven-year-old son who encouraged him to go ahead with the purchase. His wife Beth was initially skeptical, questioning why he would want what she called “a pile of junk,” yet Dave’s determination won out.

Transporting the plane posed a considerable challenge, but Dave recounts that a friend offered to help load the fuselage if he decided to buy it. With assistance secured, the project moved forward. Over the years, Dave has documented various activities on his YouTube channel, Tornado Dave, which has amassed over 326,000 subscribers. The crane operation for lowering the fuselage was filmed from multiple perspectives, including footage captured from the crane itself using a mounted GoPro-style camera. Dave’s channel was inspired, in part, by his work on the television program Guy’s Garage with presenter Guy Martin.

Alongside his storage and fabrication businesses, Dave has utilized a 3D printer to create a scale model showing how the plane’s fuselage will connect to the existing underground space below his garden. The fuselage was successfully installed on 20 October with help from five volunteers and crane operators. Upon first seeing the plane in person, Dave was impressed by the size, stating, “The scale on the picture is completely different to actually when you get there. It was massive… the plane width is absolutely perfect.” He mentioned plans to potentially include gaming machines in the finished bunker, though he noted that it would unfortunately be too narrow to accommodate a pool table