A Plane Owned By Elvis Presley Is Being Auctioned After 30 Years

Going once, going twice…A private jet once owned by Elvis Presley is set to be auctioned at the end of the month. The plane has been sitting on a runway in New Mexico for 30 years.

The plane will be auctioned along with other A-list celebrities memorabilia and will join yet another item of the King to be auctioned.

Now you can fly just like the King

The King might be dead, but his things and legacy live on, people are still clamouring for a piece of his rock ad roll legacy, and that includes a shiny bright jet plane.A private jet once owned by Elvis Presley and his beloved father Vernon is set to be auctioned after sitting in New Mexico for 30 years.

The plane is a 162 Lockheed Jetstar, one of only 204 aircraft manufactured between 1957 and 1978 in a private project between Lockheed and Jetstar. Its estimated value is between $2 million and $3.5 million.Elvis also owned more well-known planes. The Lisa Marie plane, for example, can be seen at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee.

The jet’s interior was designed by Elvis himself with gold-tone, woodwork inlay, red velvet seats and a matching red shag carpet, and they still look pretty good. What doesn’t look so good is the cockpit, which requires a restoration and the jet also news engines as it doesn’t have any.

The plane had been a source of mystery in Roswell, New Mexico where it has sat largely untouched. Roswell International Air Center Interim Director Scott Stark said the plane is privately owned and rarely was open for tours. “It’s been five or six years since there have been any tours of it,” Stark said.

However, the owner has allowed the plane to be shown at various aviation events and was also featured on National Geographic Channel.The owner previously acquired the jet in an auction at $600,000.

GWS Auctions Inc. of California said on its website the plane will be auctioned May 27 at an event in California featuring celebrity memorabilia including handwritten notes from The Beach Boys and lost photos of the late R&B singer Aaliyah.

The legacy of a king

Elvis Presley became a leading figure in the rockabilly scene with his signature moves and iconic voice. The King made his way by covering songs originally performed by African-American artists.His provocative dancing and hit records turned him into one of the 20th century’s most recognisable icons. Historians say his music also helped usher in the fall of racial segregation.

He died on August 16, 1977, and his legacy still goes on. As well as fans’ enthusiasm for getting a piece of him.

Every year, at Graceland, Presley’s Memphis home, is held the “Elvis Week,” an annual celebration of the life and career of Presley, which is held the week of August 16 to coincide with the anniversary of his death on that date in 1977.

The event is a hugeoccasionn for fans. Bids are accepted online for weeks prior to the live auction, potential bidders paid $20 for tickets to the auction and many travel from far away to nab some of the coveted memorabilia.

In the auction, all of the artifacts are from third-party collectors and nothing is from Graceland archives. Both the mansion and the property are still owned by Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis and Priscilla Presley. Other auctions are also held thourot the year, the most recent one of this year was held on March 4.

Notable Elvis Presley collectibles

The King’s items are always some of the most coveted not only for fans but also for collectors. And actually, the King holds the record for the most expensive lock of hair ever sold.

In 2002, the company MastroNet Inc, the Oak Brook, Ill., sold via the Internet a lock of Elvis’ hair on $115,000. The King’s macabre memorabilia made a total of more that John Lennon ($48,000), John F. Kennedy ($3,000) and Beethoven ($7,300) combined.

Other notable Elvis Presley collectibles include:

The “Triple Elvis” an almost seven-foot-tall ink and silver paint triple portrait of Presley as a cowboy, shooting a gun from his hips. Sold September 2014 at $81.9 million.

Elvis’ first recording was “My Happiness,” a tattered yellow labeled 78 rpm record that Presley paid Sam Philips of Sun Studios $4 for as a birthday present for his mother. One of the most valuable records in history, the item sold in January 2015 to an undisclosed Internet buyer on $300,000.

The Elvis Presley custom-designed 1970s tour bus for some of the backup band and singers, sold on $300,000.

Presley’s on stage “Turquoise Jumpsuit” was sold by ElvisMatters in 2008 at $210,000. Then, The “Nail Mirror Jumpsuit” was worn at Elvis’ largest concert at the Houston Astrodome on March 3, 1974, in front of 44,000 people. It was also worn as a touring costume in 1973. It was sold at a Regency-Superior auction in January 2006 at $175,000.

A 1955 black Cadillac Fleetwood 75 Limousine. Originally pale blue, Presley had it painted black. Seating 8-passengers, it was displayed at the Elvis Presley Car Museum in the 1990s before going to the Elvis-A-Rama Museum in Las Vegas. A Texas collector bought the car, original owner’s manual (with Elvis Presley’s signature), one spare tire, lug wrench and jack from Bonhams in November 2011 on $170,000.