Air Chathams plane marketed for use as tiny home or coffee van sells for $25k

Air Chathams general manager Duane Emeny. Photo / File

A retired aircraft advertised for potential use a novelty food truck, Air BnB or tiny home has sold for $25,000.

The 1953 Convair 340/580 aircraft sold on Trade Me on Thursday, and would likely have its wings cut off so it could be transported from where it has been stored at Auckland Airport.

The main body of the aircraft, or fuselage, is 24m long and the owner was willing to negotiate with the buyer about whether to leave controls and the pilot's seats in the cockpit.

The Air Chathams aircraft had a reserve price of $20,000 on Trade Me, and sold for $25,000.

Selling agent Rudi Gabor said he was satisfied the aircraft had sold. The true value of the purchase would be determined by how much the buyer was willing to reinvest in upgrading the aircraft, he said.

"Someone's going to need to put in a lot of money to renovate it."

The aircraft was retired last year after a history of service in Norway and Canada before coming to New Zealand in 1997.

Air Chathams general manager Duane Emeny said the plane was ideal for smaller services such as Air Chathams because it could take freight and passengers.

He described the Convair model as the "muscle car" of the skies and would liken it to a Mustang Shelby GT.

Emeny said the aircraft would have gone to the wreckers if it had not been sold.