Last year, we wrote a 2-part blog covering the many uses of timber mats. More recently, a new use was brought to our attention: Helping transport an out-of-operation airplane across the sea via a barge.

According to a report from RTE News, the Russian-owned Boeing 767 was taxied up the northwestern coast of Ireland, from Shannon, Co. Clare, Ireland to its final destination in Enniscrone, Co Sligo, Ireland. That same journey by car would typically take 2 hours and 40 minutes. However, the longer ocean route was a better option – as transporting the 767 via roadways would have been nearly impossible because of weight and size restrictions.

The airplane was being transported to its new owner, David McGowan, who paid 20,000 pounds for the plane. Plans are to convert it into a main feature at McGowan’s “Quirky Glamping Nights Village,” a resort in Sligo.

The plane will be transformed into 8 units of double bedrooms for guests to rent out, and the village will also have London taxis, boats, train carriages, and a double decker bus for guests to stay in.

As the plane was docked, the crew used timber mats to get their towing equipment to the barge after it had been beached. Due to the size of the airplane and the unstable environment in which it had to dock, timber mats prevented any ecological or environmental damage that might have come from not utilizing such measures. Meanwhile, mats also allowed the truck and trailer to safely navigate to the plane on the unstable beach – providing a sufficient amount of stability so that that job was done without any disruptions or accidents.

Moving the plane was a long process, but resulted in a significant amount of buzz as thousands of onlookers reportedly watched in excitement. David McGowan expects the first guests to stay in the plane by the end of this summer.