Abandoned Boeing 747 Restaurant (and Other Plane Conversions)

"QUANTUM SHOT" #560
Link - by Jon Dunbar and A. Abrams

The first Jumbo Jet to be flown commercially - rusting away, haunted by kitchen smells

We've seen "Airplane House & Boat Conversions", now it's time to check out converted-aircraft eating establishments - which lure customers inside the decommissioned planes (in hope to distract them from the quality of food?) Anyway, one such super-fast-jumbo-sized joint apparently is not in use any more:

all images copyright Jon Dunbar, used by permission

Jon Dunbar, whom you might remember from his "Abandoned Amusement Parks in Asia" article, sends us another account of his urban exploring in South Korea. This time it's an abandoned Boeing 747 restaurant, looming huge over the highway, and yet dwarfed by a swarm of apartment buildings all around.

Jon says: "Thanks to the helpful people at Urban Exploration Resource I discovered that this was the second Boeing 747 ever made and apparently the first to be flown commercially." Here is the photo of its better days (see more here) -

(image credit: Marc Lehmann)

Then later it was disassembled and partially reassembled over here to be used as a restaurant. It clearly was closed up very quickly and now just sits next to a railway wasting away.

On approach, one can see the apartment buildings, which in Suwon look somewhat like milk cartons:

Here it is, a strange sight in the neighborhood...

This is somewhat surreal shot: it almost looks like this Jumbo 747 landed on a poor little building, which still tries to be cheerful with all these painted Pokemons and a satellite dish:

The jet engines don't look very authentic, however:

Look at its proud cockpit, and try to reflect on this unique aircraft's history:

Inside the plane, the cockpit is no longer a cockpit - but a seating space with a view:

The menu, and typical restaurant bar trinkets are still there -

When airliners fall into disrepair, they spawn some unusual-looking mushroom growth on their wings... On the right, nicely-used landing gear:

On this photo the airliner looks like it's ready to join the flow of city's traffic -

all images copyright Jon Dunbar, used by permission

In its day, this particular Jumbo Jet (the second ever built, and the first one to be flown commercially) was subjected to rigorous testing - here is a "Tail Strike" Test video, plus its history holds some minor accidents and damage. Here it is shown being disassembled before reaching Korea - and a Boeing employee talks about its history:

(image credit: Duncan Stewart)

Then Humpty Dumpty was put together again, to host the hungry customers and thirsty bar drinkers.

Airliners used as restaurants seem to be quite popular in South Korea: there is one in Daegu, and here is another on in Mokpo:

(image via Cary, more info)

One more aircraft "cafe" was one time in Seoul, but is gone now (more info, the place now is used for screen golf)

El Avion: Iran-Contra-Cargo Plane Converted Into a Bar in Costa Rica

This cargo plane was apparently delivering supplies to the Nicaraguan Contras and was shot down in 1986... leading to the Iran Contra scandal and investigation of Reagan administration' involvement - for the full info and directions to get there click here

UPDATE: Andrew Hoskin writes: "Actually, this is the sister to the plane that got shot down. The US government had purchased and was running two of these planes. When the one that sparked the Iran Contra affair was shot down this one was abandoned at the San Jose airport in Costa Rica. It was many years later that the derelict plane was purchased and moved to its new location."

(images credit: Scott)

A plane inside a restaurant might be a better idea -

... then the unique (and often historic) aircraft is spared the wear and tear and spilled food from many customers, plus it's protected from weather elements. One restaurant owner in Switzerland - map - decided to put an old Russian Ilyushin-14 into his restaurant and called it "Runway 34":