HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — A Hillsborough County man bought a private jet once owned by Elvis Presley.
James Webb bought the 1962 Lockheed Jetstar for $234,000. The jet was sold at auction in January.
The plane is stored in an undisclosed location in Plant City.
"Never in a million years did I ever think this is actually what I would get to do for a living. Go find really super cool airplanes and try to give them a new life," said James Webb.
Webb is an aviation enthusiast. He buys planes and restores them. He has more than 365,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel called "Jimmys World."
"I think the plan is to convert this into an RV so it can go on tour so as many people as possible around the country can have an Elvis experience. They can check out the airplane and do some other fun things," said Webb.
Webb said the plane has switched owners a few times. It was privately owned before he purchased it. He paid to move the jet from a desert in Roswell, New Mexico, to Florida.
"Elvis is the King of Rock 'n' Roll. There hasn’t been a single rock star that’s had a bigger influence on music as we know it. He’s the founder of Rock 'n' Roll. I mean it doesn’t get any bigger than that," said Webb.
Webb said the jet was once red like a fire engine. The color has faded over time. Webb hopes to fix the outside of the plane but wants to leave the cockpit and inside alone. The plane still has a VCR player, microwave and television inside, along with red velvet seats and a red carpet.
Webb plans to sell the wings of the plane to other Elvis fans.
"Even though he has been dead for over 45 years, I mean, he still has a huge, massive following," said Webb.
Webb wants to tour the country and raise money for charities.
"It's something unusual, it's something interesting and maybe they'll learn something along the way, Elvis and who he was and maybe his impact," added Webb.
