Florida YouTuber buys Elvis’ private jet, plans to turn it into RV to raise money for charity

Florida YouTube personality James Webb, the host of “Jimmy’s World,” is the proud new owner of a luxury private jet that was previously owned by rock superstar Elvis Presley, and had been sitting abandoned at a New Mexico air center for over 40 years.

The 1962 Lockheed JetStar was relocated to Tampa, Florida, by Webb, whose hobby is collecting and transforming aircraft and documenting the process on his YouTube channel. Webb purchased the jet for $234,000 and had it moved over 1,600 miles from Roswell to Tampa, where it is now being stored in a warehouse in Plant City.

“Airplane itself is flipping cool, even without the obvious connection, but if you add in the Elvis connection, there’s no rock ‘n’ roll star bigger than Elvis, in my opinion,” said Webb to The Hill. Webb plans to refurbish the aircraft and turn it into an RV that would travel the country and make appearances to raise money for charity. He specifically mentioned St. Jude’s Research Hospital. 

The interior of the jet is decorated in plush red velvet, with a television set and a still-working microwave oven. The craft appears relatively clean and dust-free in photos, considering how long it sat abandoned. The exterior of the plane was painted in a red-orange color that has since chipped away.

Webb says the purchase was the biggest he has ever made, and cost more than his house. According to Fox13 News, hundreds of birds and their nests had to be removed from the inner wiring of the craft before it could be moved. Webb plans to have the refurbishment done in a year.