Buy Elvis Presley's Vintage Private Plane: Fly Like The King

An unidentified owner has put a vintage jet once owned by Elvis Presley up for auction on May 27, 2017. This Lockheed Jetstar to be auctioned was purchased by Elvis in 1962 for about $900,000. It was one of three private jets owned by “The King” during his lifetime. It was once co-owned by Elvis with his father, Vernon, who used the plane to follow Elvis around the country when Elvis was on tour.

Vernon and Elvis had an excellent relationship, and Vernon helped Elvis with business matters. After Elvis died, Vernon was the executor of the estate. Most of Elvis’s remaining fortune was held in trust for Elvis’s daughter Lisa Marie until her 25th birthday. The funds were significant, but not enormous - Elvis had a habit of being very generous with others during his lifetime. Elvis was famous for giving new Cadillac cars to his friends as a gift.

Two other Elvis jets were sold by Vernon after Elvis died. In 2015, the ownership of both planes sold at auction for $15 million. They were both once on display at Graceland on loan from the owner (for a cut of the Graceland ticket sales). One of those planes called the "Hound Dog II” has since been removed from Graceland. The other plane, a 1958 Convair 880 is still on display at Graceland. Elvis purchased the Convair 880 in April 1975 and then spent more that $800,000 having it remodeled. This was an absolute fortune at that time and would be over $3.6 million in today’s dollars. He christened the plane the “Lisa Marie,” after his daughter. The Lisa Marie was the favorite plane used by Elvis with the Hound Dog II being used only for backup if needed.

Via NBC News

The Lockheed Jetstar that is now up for auction is considered the “lost” Elvis jet because it has been sitting outside on the tarmac at an airport in Roswell, New Mexico for thirty years. Littlethings.com notes that the exposure to the elements caused the plane to rust a bit and has taken a toll on the exterior, which still has the original cranberry red-striped paint job. No restoration work has been done on this plane. The jet is also not flyable; it has no engines and the cockpit is in disarray, with some of the instruments missing. However, the interior passenger area is in “like-new” condition. It is easy to imagine Elvis sitting with his father Vernon in this luxurious jet plane.

Via GWS Auctions, Inc.

The interior remains the exact design that Elvis supposedly created complete with shag carpeting, red velvet seats, and wood paneling on the walls. A controversy erupted about this when another man from Roswell, New Mexico who said he owned the plane claimed responsibility for the plane's interior design.  regardless of who actually made the design, the interior certainly looks like Elvis's style and there is proof that plane was indeed owned by Elvis and his father Vernon at one time. There is a vintage microwave in the small kitchen area of the jet, which was brand new technology during the 1960’s. There is also a vintage television set. The bathroom is spacious with a thick velvet privacy curtain, custom wood cabinetry, and a large marble sink decorated with gold fixtures.

The Elvis Lockheed Jetstar was auctioned, with no reserve, by Live Auctioneers to the highest bidder on May 27, 2017. Auctioneers said the expected sale price was going to be $2.5 to $3.5 million. It sold for a measly $430,000. This plane ain’t nothing like a Hound Dog (II)! And the auctioneers and seller may be crying all the time now.

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