Jimmy's World Elvismobile
'Slightly slower than a jet'
Elvis Presley’s JetStar traveled 1,600 miles to Wisconsin to be at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2024.
It didn’t fly in, and it wasn’t trucked in. It was driven in. The 1962 Lockheed JetStar once owned by the rock 'n' roll legend arrived at the show on July 20.
If you’re one of the 475,000 followers of Jimmy's World, you already know Webb—just four years into his aviation journey—purchases unloved airplanes, often complete basket cases that are not airworthy, and tries to get them flying again.
Asked to describe what the Elvismobile is, Webb replied with his usual tongue-in-cheek humor: “If you're an airplane person, you may know it as Elvis Presley's private jet in 1976 that was abandoned in Roswell, New Mexico, for 41 years until I bought it a year and a half ago…I spent the last 18 months and all of my life savings converting this thing into a road-going vehicle that we can now share with the entire world.”
Fortunately, Webb has an automotive maintenance and engineering background. “Well, it's mostly redneck engineering,” he said. “I mean, this is about as redneck as it gets. My background, my whole life, I've always found broken things and fixed them. I did it with four-wheelers and dirt bikes and in cars and then had a restoration performance shop. And then I got into aviation about four years ago. Found an old broken airplane and started fixing that up. And that's how the YouTube channel started. I just took my phone out and went, hey, watch me go bankrupt fixing up the airplane. People seem to like it. It is entertaining.”
The JetStar’s engines had already been removed for display in a Tennessee museum, and other issues prevented it from flying again. “Well, the EPA noise violation thing for the jet engines, it had compliance issues, no parts availability. There's just a myriad of lists of why this thing would never fly again,” said Webb.
Webb paid $234,000 for the jet at auction. “Yeah, we're still trying to decide if that was the best or worst financial decision,” he said. “I'm in about $350,000. Which for a private jet I guess is pretty cheap…and it's a lot cheaper to maintain now than a regular private jet and gets better fuel mileage—11 and a half miles to the gallon on the way up [to AirVenture]—and able to cruise at about 65 miles an hour. Slightly slower than a in a jet, but much cheaper to operate.”
Webb initially intended to convert the jet into an Airbnb, then changed his mind. “Because the interior is still absolutely perfect, and like a time capsule,” he said. “We have only vacuumed it and wiped the wood down. That's it. Everything else is still just the way it was at least 41 years ago…whenever they did the interior. …And it's red velvet with gold accents. It’s absolutely epic and fantastic. That was the primary reason I bought it... And when we plugged a power ground unit to it, I don't know how long it had been since it had had power, 30, 35 years, probably, everything turned on: the TV, the VCR, the microwave in the back, all these lights, they still all work. It blew my mind.”
The drive from Florida to AirVenture hit some turbulence. “You have to get used to your sight picture and, you know, where you're at in the lane,” said Webb. “And once you do that, it's not too bad. The biggest thing, the scariest part of the whole deal, was everybody else in their cars because they would come up and then they would slam on the brakes and they get their phone out and their car's doing this as they're trying to film, and you're just trying to keep a little bit of a distance, and then they get in front of you and then slow down. So you have to go around them. I mean, it was it was a rolling traffic jam for 1,659 miles.”
Webb wasn’t sure how AirVenture attendees would react. “You know, nobody's noticed it. I think one person came yesterday,” he deadpanned. “No. I'm kidding. Really, truly, the reception's been fantastic. I was kind of worried because Elvis fans and aviation fans, I usually get one of two responses: I'm either the devil incarnate, and I have destroyed a piece of national history or it's really awesome and they just love it because I'm saving and giving new life to something.”
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When Webb purchased the JetStar, it still had wings. “Ah yes. So the wings are how I'm paying for all of this,” said Webb. “The wings, of course, we couldn't use. We cut them up into little tokens that come with a certificate of authenticity, a copy of the bill of sale when Elvis bought it, and then a picture of the airplane whenever I got it out in New Mexico. So we sell those, and that's how I'm helping pay for and recover my money from all the big investment of it. And we need to sell about a thousand of 'em, and so far we're at 500. So, we're almost there. We're halfway there.” The tokens cost $329 each—$529 mounted with a bill of sale—so perhaps Webb is wilier than he first appears.
“And we still have the tail section of it,” said Webb. “I would love if Gibson or Fender or somebody like that, we can make a limited run of Elvis guitars. That would be awesome.“
Webb’s future plans for the jet appear to be unclear—even to him. “I honestly don't know exactly what the plan is,” he said. “I would love for it to continue to go around so that other people can enjoy it, go check it out and everything. What we're doing here [at AirVenture] is doing tours of it. Ten-dollar donation to Wings of Compassion. It's a military veteran nonprofit. So, [attendees] go in and it helps fund [Wings of Compassion] and it helps take care of wear and tear on things, as things get worn and broken. And then, for me, we're just selling T-shirts and meeting everybody. I'm so excited to meet everyone. And it really is just a blessing that I get to do this for a living.”
After AirVenture, the Elvismobile will continue its unlikely journey. “You know, we're trying to get it to SEMA in Las Vegas. The big car show is down there,” said Webb. “Maybe to some RV conventions or something like that. We don't know.” We’d bet Webb knows exactly what’s next. His fun-loving persona hides a shrewd business sense and an ability to captivate an audience as he seeks his next aircraft restoration adventure.
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