Sleep in a WWII warbird in the Wisconsin Northwoods

Angela Fitzgerald:Flying over northeast Wisconsin, there are endless lakes and forests. And there’s a chance to get a glimpse of something unusual suspended in the trees.

Joe Draeger:It does look quite unique from the air. It’s about eight feet wide. I’m gonna guess and say it’s roughly 45 feet long. Certainly unique when you pull in here and you see this DC-3 sitting here in the middle of the woods.

Angela Fitzgerald:Joe Draeger landed on an idea to float a World War II aircraft in the northwoods canopy near Kempster. I’m not a pilot. I’m not an aviator by any sense of the means.

Angela Fitzgerald:What Joe is is an entrepreneur who came up with a plan to put the air in B&B, turning this vintage DC-3 warbird into an overnight destination.

Joe Draeger:Someone had told me that they had one possibly here in Wisconsin. And we brought it up here on a flatbed truck, and then we had a crane come in and set it. And it’s a lot of work, metal bending and engineering just to get it up there, get it built. It took us probably 10 months minimum from start to finish before it was ready to be inspected by the state.

Joe Draeger:All right, we’ll go up the top. It’s a unique spot. Now, this is Catfish Lake out here. It’s actually a pretty good fishing lake. It’s sitting on 100 acres here.

Angela Fitzgerald:At one time, this military plane, nicknamed “Lady Luck,” could travel hundreds of miles with 20 Marines on board.

Joe Draeger:Historically, where it was in the South Pacific, it flew somewhere between Guam, Midway, Pearl Harbor. I think it was built in 1939. Very dependable plane. Very iconic. People who are in the aviation business are very familiar with the DC-3. They always say it was the plane that won the war.

[door creaks]

Angela Fitzgerald:Enter the cabin and you step back to a wartime footing.

Joe Draeger:This original door, there’s original flooring that was in it. We had it all redone. So it’s got a little makeshift kitchen here with the sink and the fridge. And it’s got a bathroom.

Joe Draeger:The cockpit is probably the nicest part of the plane. I think the kids that come up here like to sit in the seat. I can’t imagine flying this thing, being shot at. Most of the stuff that was originally in here is not in here anymore. There was literally a thousand toggle switches between these two pieces that we took out. The wiring harness was about that big.

Angela Fitzgerald:Any overnight flight at this Air B&B comes with a copilot, free of charge.

Joe Draeger:As you see in every movie, there’s always a skeleton that went down with the plane. Captain Bones, as he’s referred to.

Angela Fitzgerald:Family and friends may have had their doubts about Joe’s adventure in the sky.

Joe Draeger:Well, I suppose they thought I was half nuts. I suppose most people thought it was kind of a crazy idea, but anyone that’s been back here to see it is like, “It really did turn out nice.” It is a lot of work to have an Air B&B like this. It’s been fun.

[groovy music]