Overview
- Dave Billings, 44, is converting a decommissioned BMI Baby 737 fuselage bought on Facebook Marketplace into an underground shelter at his Hilton, Derbyshire home.
- He previously spent about £50,000 on an existing bunker and expects to invest roughly £20,000 more on the new project, after paying around £4,000 to move the fuselage in December 2025.
- He plans to display the restored fuselage at Maker’s Central at the NEC in May before burying it on his property later in 2026.
- Billings has itemised expected costs at about £8,000 for concrete, £3,000 for mesh and £2,000 for insulation, and he intends to stock three to six months of supplies.
- He is fitting living and leisure features and working out ventilation, water and power needs, while stressing he does not expect the Iran-related tensions to reach the UK and that protection claims, such as safety from blasts roughly 10 miles away, are his estimates.