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The larger-than-life character of Elvis Presley matched the way he traveled. His choice of air travel included two private jets taken in 1975 in the form of a Convair 880 and a Lockheed JetStar. Let’s take a look at these two planes from the legendary rock and roll star.
Big spender
The Convair 880 was named after Lisa Marie, named after Presley’s daughter. It was purchased from Delta Air Lines for $ 250,000 (≈ $ 1.2 million today) in April 1975. However, the renovation brought the total cost to over $ 600,000 (≈ $ 2.9 million). dollars today). The musical artist then jumped into the sky on the plane in November of that year.
The interior has been modified with elegant bedrooms, a penthouse bedroom with a custom queen bed, an executive bathroom with gold faucets and a gold sink. It even had a videotape system hooked up to four televisions and a stereo system with 52 speakers.
Fly in style
Presley could even use the conference room on the plane. In addition, his ex-wife also contributed to the interior design of the aircraft.
“The plane was in a hangar at Meacham Field in Fort Worth, and for months Elvis took great pleasure in flying friends around to check on progress as the plane’s interior was refurbished to his design requirements. very specific (he bought another plane for these trips – a smaller Lockheed JetStar). Elvis wanted a sitting area, a conference room and a private bedroom on the plane (with space for an in-flight reading library), ” Share of Elvis Australia.
“He chose the fabrics, decided on the color combinations, chose the on-board audio-visual system and even approved the gold fixtures in the bathrooms (he relied a lot on an aesthetic contribution from Priscilla, too). Elvis was especially excited that the same design team had previously customized Air Force One. The craft slowly came together as a seaworthy blend of modern function and Graceland elegance.
A big choice
Presley took the Lockheed JetStar, dubbed Hound Dog II for around $ 900,000 (≈ $ 4.3 million today) as it waited for renovations to be completed on the Lisa Marie. It wasn’t the only unit of the type he flew in. He also had a 1962 Lockheed JetStar, which he once owned with his father,
Here’s a look at the specs for both planes:
Lisa Marie
- Crew: three
- Capacity: 28
- Engines: 4 x General Electric CJ-805-3 Pod Mount Jets
- Cruise speed: 989 km / h (615 mph)
- Range: 3000 miles
- Service ceiling: 41,000 feet
Hunting dog II
- Crew: two pilots and usually a flight attendant
- Capacity: 8-10 passengers
- Engines: 4 × Garrett TFE731-3 turbojets
- Cruise speed: 811 km / h (504 mph)
- Range: 2,995 miles
- Service ceiling: 43,000 ft (13,105 m)
For the world to see
Presley won’t be flying the two jets for long as he passed away two years later in 1977 at the age of just 42. According to Rolling Stone, the two planes ended up being handed over to OKC Partnership, which agreed in the middle. 1980s to display the plane at Graceland in exchange for a percentage of ticket sales. However, the situation escalated in April 2014. Elvis Presley Enterprises wrote to OKC asking them to make arrangements to remove the planes by April of the following year.
Subsequently, Julien’s Auctions, which calls itself the auction house of the stars, announced the opportunity to own Elvis Presley’s private jets. He was undoubtedly excited to be a part of this historic moment.
“While Elvis’ jet-set lifestyle is apparent throughout the ‘Lisa Marie’ jet that he used for his exclusive transportation and private air travel, the plane’s last flight was from transporting Priscilla Presley and Elvis’ good friend George Hamilton from California to her funeral. In 1984, the ‘Lisa Marie’ made a formal entry into Graceland where she became part of the popular attraction, “ Julien’s Auctions shared in a press release seen by Simple Flying.
“Millions of fans and tourists have visited the two planes over the past thirty years. Elvis’ father Vernon sold the plane in 1978 and it changed hands twice, but was bought by the current owners who formed a joint venture with the Graceland owners to bring it home to Graceland .
Here to stay
However, there was a turning point for both planes. At the end of April 2015, Graceland said he was happy to announce that an agreement had been made for Lisa Marie and Hound Dog II to stay permanently at Elvis Presley’s famous home in Memphis.
Lisa Marie also confirmed the update by showing her joy over Twitter. She notably stated that they would stay in Graceland forever.
Exciting news: I wanted 2b to be the first to tell U: Planes will stay in Graceland 4 forever! We own them and have 4 fun blueprints for them too 🙂
– Lisa Marie Presley (@LisaPresley) April 26, 2015
So the two jets of one of the greatest musicians of all time seek to stay at his home in Tennesee. Without a doubt, many Elvis and aviation enthusiasts will be keen to see the planes for themselves.
Presley wasn’t the only mid-20th century entertainment legend to have a lavish plane. Rock legends like Iron Maiden and Led Zeppelin also took to the air with their own custom aircraft. However, these planes would end up with a different fate from the Lisa Marie and the Hound Dog II.
What do you think of the two planes? Have you seen them on your visits to Graceland over the years? Let us know what you think of the plane in the comments section.
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