Lovers of aviation will soon be able to indulge their obsession for days at a time with no climate shame, thanks to an eccentric initiative from Belgian cameraman and actor Norman Baert, who plans to turn a vintage plane into a place to stay.
Flemish Baert, who confesses he has always been “fascinated by airplanes”, had acquired a former metal-working factory in the village of Jauche, where he had planned to house classic cars, before falling in love at first sight with a “Caravelle” – a French Sud Aviation twin-engine jet aircraft, dating back to 1958.
The short-to-medium range craft, an early predecessor of the supersonic Concorde, was “the first Sud Aviation jet produced in Europe after World War II,” Baert notes. A star from the golden age of aviation, whose comfort-focused design, with built-in stairs and backwards-facing seats, proved hugely commercially successful, it spread its wings to every continent in the world, except Australia.
For Baert, the idea of acquiring such an icon was irresistible, despite the potential problems in accommodating it and the investment of around €175,000 needed for the purchase, disassembly, exceptional transport, and reassembly. “I was immediately won over by the idea,” he has explained to Flemish community broadcaster VRT, “but I had to think carefully: could the airplane, which is 32 metres long and 8.6 metres high, fit into my hangar?”
The hangar had to be renovated in mid-2025 to better welcome the aircraft thanks to a new roof, utility lines, a moved column, and a new polished concrete floor. But the plane too had to undergo changes, losing its 24.3-metre wingspan and its cockpit. As of late August, the stripped-down Caravelle fuselage is “finally in my hangar,” Baert has confirmed.
To turn the plane into somewhere guests will want to stay, the showbusiness pro is now bringing his expertise and contacts to bear, enter art director and set designer Kurt Rigolle, a fellow aviation enthusiast with a collection of his own, including the classic Belgian flag carrier Sabena.
The pair are intending to “keep six rows of seats in the back of the plane,” accessible Flemish news site Made In reports. “We’ll furnish that area as a kind of cinema and relaxation area, and it can also be used for corporate seminars, events, or a fashion show. The B&B itself will normally accommodate four to six guests, but we’re not entirely sure yet,” Baert said.
There will be “ventilation, air conditioning, and a water pump,” Baert explains enthusiastically, and up front, “Behind the cockpit, we’re going to set up a small kitchen, followed by a living room.”
While those transformations take place, would-be guests will need to wait until Easter 2026 before the Carvelle B&B becomes available.
