Although the Skylander, will never really take off, it is a relic of another project from Geci Aviation, which went bankrupt in 2013. In the Nantes (western France) region, deep in the countryside, the only full-size model of this French propeller driven 20-seater aircraft, landed up (pun intended) at this campsite.
In late 2013, William Staub, the campsite manager, bought it at on auction for a little less than 6,000 euros, with the idea of using it to develop the campsite’s range of unusual lodgings. Now, although permanently grounded, the Skylander transports passengers from all backgrounds to dreamland.
William Staub, campsite manager - Le Haut-Village (Saint-Michel-Chef-Chef, Loire-Atlantique): "Intended for avid aviation enthousiasts, as well as ordinary everyday customers, with or without families and as gifts. It now has a second useful life. At the time, they did something that was not profitable, but now it is, and it works very well."
Three people can board in the cabin for a timeless journey. Towards the tail we find a double bed, and the cockpit has also been converted into a bedroom for one person, where you can take the controls, complete with control column and navigation instruments, which even though artificial, are quite realistic.
The Skylander, for William, was not his first test programme at this aviation theme campsite: a Boeing 737 wing flap, a black box, and oxygen masks, nothing is lacking. He also converted a US ‘plane, an authentic Grumman Gulfstream, into accommodation for four people.
The essential has been conserved, but with the installation of a few indispensable mod cons, such as this shower, which of course did not originally exist, nor the kitchen, or the toilet, where the co-pilot’s seat was. In the cockpit, the dashboard has gone, but the pilot’s controls are original, as are the seat belts, very useful to keep the kids at table.
Throughout the year, this unusual campsite is always full. To spend a night aboard the Skylander or Grumman, the fare starts at 90 euros.
