Parked in the front yard of his Lavington home sits a caravan with the words 'Laze-away Land Cruiser' painted on the side.

But what makes this trailer different is it was once up in the skies.

Mr Gibbs had the aircraft-turned-caravan delivered to his home in November 2023.

"Oh, I count it as normal, but most people would probably say it's pretty bloody out there!" Mr Gibbs said with a laugh.

The Douglas DC-2 aircraft named the Bungana, took its first flight in Australia in 1936.

Operated by Holyman's Airways, the Bungana was one of the first aircraft to have air hostesses in Australia.

The plane flew between major Australian cities, was chartered for military air transport duties and suffered a bird strike that caused an engine fire in 1940.

It flew its last passenger service in 1946 and was sold for scrap in 1948. The main body of the plane was converted to a caravan, while other parts were sold as scrap metal and also used in a motor boat.

Mr Gibbs said the caravan had travelled far and wide between families, including to the Top End.

Now his purchase has become a new Lavington landmark.

"When it was out on the road, cars stopped all the time with people," he said.

"Get a few people, visitors, people with caravans who viewed it off the internet or some caravanning sites and that, come along to call in to have a look at things and everything."

For as long as he can remember, Mr Gibbs has loved planes.

"When I finished school, my parents took me down to Moorabbin one time for my birthday and to the museum," he said.

"And the guys there let me go up through some of the planes, I was hooked.

"First weekend after I got my driver's licence, I was down there and joined them."

Mr Gibbs spent time restoring aircraft in Moorabbin before joining the air force when he was 22, where he was first posted to Wagga.

When he was completing his training and throughout his years in the air force, he spent a lot of time at RAAF Wagga Aviation Heritage Centre, helping to restore planes and he eventually became a curator.

Mr Gibbs was in the air force for almost 18 years and continued to work at TAFE restoring planes, even after he left the force.

He said he had restored "quite a few dozen" aircraft, including at the RAAF Museum in Point Cook.

Along the way, he began collecting his own plane parts and memorabilia and enjoys spending time learning about the history of the pieces.

Mr Gibbs and a few of his friends formed the Clyde North Aeronautical Preservation Group to keep their love of planes and collectables alive.

He also enjoys putting together aviation displays.

"And when we were working on things, thinking, I see stuff that would go for scrap or get sent to the tip and think, 'oh, it would have been handy when we were doing things'," he said.

"And we sort of thought, well, we collect stuff ourselves and do things that if it just sits out in the backyard and rusts away, it does, but at least it's there 10 years' time if someone wants to use it to restore something or even just put on display."

Mr Gibbs paid less than $10,000 for the caravan and is looking into restoration works.

Later on down the track, he thinks the Bungana could make a great addition next to the Uiver, another Douglas DC-2 aircraft, in Albury.