Throughout his storied career, Elvis Presley had quite a fascination with the aviation industry. By the time the king of rock and roll died in August 1977, the musician reportedly owned a private fleet of aircraft consisting of a Convair 880, nicknamed the Lisa Marie, and two Lockheed JetStars. Those latter private jets were purchased towards the end of Elvis’ career and one of them, a 1962 Lockheed JetStar L-1329 is being dusted off for an auction in January 2023.
The 1962 Lockheed JetStar was the third and last jet added to Presley’s collection before his death. He purchased it in 1976, just a year before his passing, so was the least flown in his fleet. After he passed away, Elvis’ private jet was sent to Roswell International Air Center in Roswell, New Mexico for storage in the desert, which is where it remained for around 35 years until it was sold to a private owner.
The Elvis 1962 Lockheed JetStar was the only aircraft not given a nickname by Elvis. The four-engine Convair 880, purchased from Delta Air Lines for US$250,000 (AU$372,000), was named Lisa Marie after Presley’s only daughter. And the second aircraft he purchased, a 10-seat Lockheed JetStar executive business jet, was dubbed Hound Dog II after it was purchased for US$900,000 (AU$1.3 million) in 1975.
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The rusted jet is not in any condition to actually fly, but that hasn’t stopped interest from surrounding the aircraft while it bounced around a few auction houses over the past few decades. It was most recently sold to an undisclosed buyer in 2017 for US$430,000 (AU$639,000) and now appears to once again need a new owner as it heads to the auction block at Mecum’s 2023 Kissimmee event in Osceola Heritage Park, Florida.
It may have a rusty fuselage, no flight instruments and missing engines, but the Elvis 1962 Lockheed JetStar is a very distinctive vintage beauty. The interior features overstuffed pink velvet swivel seats and sofas, an old-school tape deck stereo, a small TV and a microphone. Framed by a vivid red livery, the plane looks appropriately retro-futuristic.
