Spend a night on-board a Boeing 737-200 in Hoedspruit, Limpopo
You can experience the thrill of spending a night on a Boeing, overlooking the African bushveld and the northern Drakensberg mountains.
The dream became a reality for Martin den Dunnen and wife Tracy den Dunnen in March 2019 when time, opportunity, and passion collided and ZS-BIL was purchased.
The Aerotel project is the idea and brainchild of Martin den Dunnen and wife Tracy den Dunnen. Martin, who is a businessman of Hoedspruit for approximately 23 years, a pilot, and property developer with extensive construction experience, and Tracy had a dream, a will, and a passion to restore dignity to a retired airliner aircraft, that habitually ends up in airport graveyards, doomed to rust away or to be chopped up as scrap metal., a sad reminder of the once magnificent piece of machinery it was.
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A four-month-preparation project ensued where BIL was prepared for safe transportation from OR Tambo International airport to Hoedspruit, where the rebuild and conversion would take place.
BIL departed from DENEL grounds on 5 May 2019 and travelled nine days by road to Hoedspruit, Limpopo.
The rebuild ensued in full force once BIL arrived. It was an adventure to say the least, with no manual and no previous experience from which to draw from to light the way. But with the assistance and expertise of local and regional professionals, Aerotel stands today as a testimony of what willpower and passion can achieve, when coupled with a great team of like-minded individuals.
The Aerotel will open their doors on 10 October 2020!