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Airplanes

The Real Flying Elvis

In the 1950s Elvis Presley toured mostly by car. In fact, he and his band wore out a number of cars driving from city to city to perform. He rarely traveled by plane due in part to a troubled flight he had once in a small chartered plane.

In the 1960's Elvis didn't tour, but rather focused on his movie career. He often traveled by train and then later his custom bus to get back and forth between Memphis and Hollywood.

With the 1970s came Elvis' return to the concert stage and touring across America. The distance between concerts and the fast pace of the tour
schedules made flying a necessity and he started chartering larger jet planes. In April 1975 he decided to acquire his own jet. He sent his associate Joe Esposito to look for one. Joe found Elvis a Convair 880, a former 96-passenger Delta airliner.

Elvis paid $250,000 for the plane and spent over a half a million dollars more to have it customized to include a lounge with suede sofas and leather-topped game tables, a conference/dining room with leather recliner chairs, a sitting/guest bedroom, a master bedroom with a queen-size bed, and a fully equipped galley, and two half-baths with 24K gold-flecked sinks. Television, video and stereo systems, sky phones and gold-plated seat belt buckles were among the other appointments and accessories. With the refurbishment the jet acquired a new name, the "Lisa Marie" in honor of Elvis' daughter, and the nickname "Hound Dog I".
Elvis employed a full-time crew of four for his plane - Captain Elwood David, co-pilot Ron Strauss, flight engineer Jim Manning and flight attendant Carol Bouchere.

This Convair 880 was one of only 65 made by the Convair Division of General Dynamics Corporation of San Diego, California in 1958. It was called 880 based on its cruising speed in feet per second. It was a very fast plane but used a great
deal of fuel. It consumed 1,700 gallons per hour and using 2200 gallons on take-off alone. Used primarily by TWA, Delta, and Northeast Airlines, they became too expensive to operate and were retired in the wake of the oil crisis of the
early 1970s. Once, many of the decommissioned Convairs were housed in the Mojave Desert
where the climate protected their parts and wiring from decay. However, only a few now are
still in existence, having been scrapped in late 2000. Today, a group of volunteers called Team Convair 880 works to restore a plane known as Convair Ship 23 to air worthiness, determined to make this once proud bird fly again. Elvis' Convair, however, is permanently grounded, parked across the street from Graceland Mansion for the enjoyment of the Graceland visitors who take an on-board tour of the plane.

On 16 August 1977, 30 years ago Elvis Presley died. He has most probably been the biggest pop-rock star ever, he is still popular among millions of people. His house has become a shrine for pilgrims, his records are still sold and we still wonder his songs, his lifestyle, his career and I am sure that with his success story he is an idol for many young people.

So what do we know about his attraction to planes?

He owned 2 jets in his life.

• a Convair 880 called Lisa Marie (named after her daughter Lisa Marie Presley)
• a Lockheed Jetstar called Hound Dog II.

(the following pictures are not of Elvis Presley’s jets. They were taken from the manufacturer’s website and Wikipedia)
Convair 880

The Convair 880 was a jet airliner produced by the Convair division of General Dynamics. It was designed to compete with the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 by being smaller, faster and safer, a niche that failed to create demand. Only 65 880s were produced over the lifetime of the production run from 1959 to 1962, and General Dynamics eventually withdrew from the airliner market after considering the 880 project a failure. Only 9 of these aircrafts are left in the world, none of them is airworthy and only one is preserved properly, Lisa Marie - the plane of Elvis Presley. It is parked in Graceland in Memphis and it is part of the Elvis museum.

Manufacturer: Convair
Maiden flight: January 27, 1959
Produced: 1959-1962
Number of aircrafts built: 65

Jetstar

The JetStar originated as a private project within Lockheed, with an eye to winning a USAF requirement that was later dropped due to budget cuts. Lockheed decided to continue the project on their own for the business market. Noise regulations in the United States and high fuel consumption led to the development of the 731 JetStar, a modification program which added new Garrett AiResearch TFE731 turbofan engines and redesigned external fuel tanks to original JetStars. The 731 JetStar modification program was so successful that Lockheed produced 40 new JetStars, designated the JetStar II, from 1976 through 1979. The JetStar IIs were factory new aircraft with the turbofan engines and revised external fuel tanks. Both 731 JetStars and JetStar IIs have greatly increased range, reduced noise, and better runway performance compared to the original JetStars.
JetStar production totaled 204 aircraft by final delivery in 1978. Most original JetStars have been retired, but many 731 JetStars and JetStar IIs are still flying in various roles. A JetStar that was owned by Elvis Presley in his later years, named Hound Dog II, is on display at Graceland.

Maufacturer: Lockheed
Maiden flight: 4 September 1957
Produced: 1957 - 1978
Number of aircrafts built: 204

Both jets were sold by the family after the death of Elvis, but later they were bought back and parked in Graceland, Memphis and they serve as a part of the museum.

THE CONVAIR 880 IN ITS ORIGINAL COLOUR

THE "LISA MARIE"

Convair880

THE "HOUNDDOG"

JetStar

Elvis at Airport in 1976 and 1977 . The footage is without sound but in my opinion absolutely phantastic....Elvis Presley Airport 1976 1977 Concert Lisa Marie Show Airplane King On Tour

                             CLICK TO ENLARGE

Elvis' gold plated sink Photo by Joseph Kereta Photo I took of Elvis' bathroom, you can see the soap bar to the left.

THE "LISA MARIE" AT THE GENEVE AIRPORT, SWISS

JAN 1980

THE "LISA MARIE"

WITH ELVIS AND FRIENDS

ABOARD, STARTING FOR NEXT

SHOW. CIRCA 1976

THE JETSTAR

JUNE 1976