Elvis Presley’s 1962 Luxury Jet To Be Auctioned After Sitting On Runway For 30 Years
Another very special piece of Elvis Presley memorabilia is up for auction, and this little treasure is at once both personal and useful as a mode of transportation, with the item being Presley’s 1962 Lockheed Jetstar plane. Elvis Presley’s red airplane has been sitting on a New Mexico runway now for 30 years, causing a considerable amount of talk and gossip among the residents of Roswell.
While Elvis Presley’s Lockheed Jetstar plane will need to have a total restoration of its cockpit and will also need new engines, potential buyers will be interested to know that Elvis handled the interior decoration of the airplane himself, which boasts plush red velvet seats and also features a red shag carpet that perfectly matches the seats of the plane.
Live Auctioneers are the company that will be dealing with the bidding for Elvis Presley’s 1962 Lockheed Jetstar plane, and the auctioning website describes the endless possibilities for future buyers of Presley’s airplane, with the ability to either restore and use the plane themselves or use Elvis’s plane for exhibition purposes.
“The jet is still in its original condition, and has been privately owned for over 35 years. The interior was custom designed to Elvis’ specifications, down to the gold-tone, woodwork, inlay and red velvet seats and red shag carpet. This jet has the potential of being fully restored, and placed on exhibit for the world to come see.”
Scott Stark, the Roswell International Air Center Interim Director, has confirmed that Elvis Presley’s plane has been grounded with little to no tours conducted of it and the most recent tour being at least five to six years ago.
“It’s been five or six years since there have been any tours of it.”
However, Stark did reveal that the current owner of the plane did allow Elvis Presley’s 1962 Lockheed Jetstar to be used for occasional aviation events, as Fox News report. There has been immense curiosity as to who the current owner of Presley’s airplane is, but his name has not been released to the public.
GWS Auctions Inc. of California has confirmed that Saturday, May 27 will be the official date that Elvis’s plane will be auctioned during an event which will also feature memorabilia from other artists.
NEWS: Elvis Presley’s private jet up for auction (1962 Lockheed Jetstar). Estimate $2-3.5m: https://t.co/J1FWvNKJQk pic.twitter.com/VFUjmaJzNh
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Some of these other items will include notes from The Beach Boys that have been handwritten, along with “mysterious letters and writing from Brian Wilson,” as The Telegraph report. Also up for auction are previously unseen photographs of the singer Aaliyah.
The auction house hosting the sale of Elvis Presley’s plane has estimated the value of the Lockheed Jetstar to be worth $3.5 million, but it is conceivable that the plane could end up selling for far more than the suggested amount.
Presley was a profound lover of planes, and along with this one, Elvis also had other planes that are perhaps more recognizable for their names. The Lisa Marie, for example, is one of Elvis Presley’s more well-known planes and is currently in Memphis, Tennessee at his Graceland home.
What makes this plane so different from others, however, is that Elvis shared ownership of it with his father, Vernon Presley. It is also just one out of 204 aircraft made that were created from a project between Lockheed and Jetstar between the years 1957 and 1978, as the Metro noted.
While Elvis Presley departed this world at the age of just 42 in 1977, he did leave behind plenty of memorabilia, including his 1962 Lockheed Jetstar plane, which could find a new home soon.
[Featured Image by Keystone/Getty Images]
