Wingless plane to take flight on Mexican roads

Guadalajara - A Guadalajara, Mexico-based company has redesigned a large airplane in which the only turbulence passengers will experience might come from potholes in pockmarked roads.

Limousines de Guadalajara Vaca Meters bought an old Boeing 727-100, jettisoned its wings and gave it a facelift to turn the aircraft into the ultimate limousine with the capacity to transport up to 50 passengers.

A three-hour ride in this oversized limo with speeds of up to 200 kilometers (124 miles) an hour costs 1,000 dollars. The plane will be available to the public in May.

"We had to make a superhuman effort to bring the plane's parts here," said Martin Vaca, the limousine company's owner. "The trip was very difficult."

Sixty people worked on the plane's transformation for three months.

The six-tonne plane is 18 meters (59 feet) long and 3.9 meters (12.8 feet) high. It has a six-cylinder, turbocharged diesel engine in the back and air brakes and suspension.

The interior is decked with neon strobe lights and audio and video systems. Passengers can boogie on a dance floor, make a pit stop at a bar or retire to a "romantic" space in the back of the aircraft-turned-luxury-automobile.

Outside, the wingless plane still has its 30 portholes, but passengers looking out the windows will be admiring asphalt instead of white clouds. -- AFP News

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