Elvis Presleys fabulous new plane, the Lisa Marie, has arrived at Memphis International Airport after undergoing finishing touches in Texas and California.
The converted Delta Air Lines Convair 880 with a new white paint job on the outside and luxurious furnishings on the inside arrived at Memphis Aero late Monday night.
The plane seems destined to draw a lot of attention, even without trying.
When the ramp attendant at Memphis Aero was guiding the huge jet to a mooring, he guided it to a white line and allowed the pilot to park the plane about six feet off the line.
As a result, one wing yesterday extended about six feet beyond a taxi ramp and over a taxiway on the Memphis Aero side of the airport.
Parked alongside the Convair 880 is Elvis' Jet Star, looking like a frog beside an elephant in a size comparison.
Pilot for the plane was called yesterday about the wing tip sticking out on the taxiway and he moved it. There was plenty of room for small planes to taxi past, but to keep things according to guidelines at the airport, the big jet was moved six feet.
The Convair 880 has a range of approximately 3000 miles and is one of the fastest jetliners around. The Convair 880 holds several speed records for airliners.
Cruising speed is about 600 miles per hour and the plane is designed to fly above 40,000 feet.
When Delta used Convairs. the planes seated 99 persons.
Delta sold its Convairs at about $5 million each, thus, Elvis has a bundle of money in his Convair, after purchase and new configuration. [This is not correct, probably they mean the whole fleet sold for this amount - See out story on The Lisa Marie for more details.]
The Convair is the fourth in Elvis' fleet. He has a Gulfstream and a Jet Commander both of which are up for sale. One is in Maryland and the other in Florida.
The name of Elvis' daughter, Lisa Marie, is painted on the nose of the big jet and TCB on the tail. The TCB are initials for Elvis' company Taking Care of Business.
The giant jet looks ordinary enough on the outside, but when you step inside, that's something else.
Lavish carpeting greets the passenger. There are several seats and then the plane is divided into several rooms, partitioned.
There's a plush lounge and a fancy bathroom.
Elvis has an office in the plane and one for his secretary. There is a conference room also. And there is a king size bed for Elvis.
- Read about: The Lisa Marie Convair 880
- Photos: Lisa Marie at the controls of Elvis Presley' Lisa Marie Jet
- Photos: Elvis Presley's JetStar Airplane
- Video: Elvis Boarding and taking off in The Lisa Marie 1976-1977