Family owns hangar filled with vintage aircraft and engines recovered from Elvis’s private jet
- This aircraft hangar is this man’s inheritance
- It’s filled with collectible aircraft and their engines
- Plus the engines from Elvis Presley’s private jet
Published on Oct 02, 2024 at 3:14 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Oct 03, 2024 at 6:21 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
While most of us are only set to inherit a few pieces of scuffed-up furniture and a blood type from our parents, this US family has a hangar filled with collectible aircraft and engines from the private jet of Elvis.
Sitting front and center is a Hughes 269 helicopter purchased by the creator’s father.
It was restored by the family after being abandoned by the Polish government and being grounded for 20 years.
However, that’s not all – there are also two Polish military jet trainers, Mercedes vehicles and engines, and of course, the engines from Elvis Presley’s jet that the YouTuber has something of a connection with.
DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie
Elvis private jet engines
The ‘real reason’ that YouTuber Jimmy Webb of Jimmy’s World is here – of course – is that his interviewee Ben’s dad once owned the Elvis jet that made Jimmy famous.
After converting the aircraft of Elvis Presley into an RV, Webb recently revealed the eyewatering costs involved.
However, it’s arguably earning its keep after he drove it to a McDonald’s drive-thru.
Alongside his father, he took the engines out of the Elvis jet after acquiring it from Roy McCay of the McCay Oil Corporation in the mid-1990s.
His father had been searching for engines for his Polish military jet trainers and came across the Lockheed JetStar previously owned by Elvis Presley
The jet had been parked at Roswell International Airport since the 1980s and wasn’t flying, but Roy occasionally showed it off to friends.
After about a year of negotiations, the father bought the jet and traveled to Roswell to dismantle and retrieve the engines.
They removed the four engines from the jet, and transported them back home using a trailer and a blue Mercedes that is still parked in the hangar.
While they sold one of the engines, they kept the rest for their jets and they’re still lurking somewhere in the hangar.
Other aircraft, vehicles, and parts
In addition to the Elvis engines from his Lockheed JetStar, there are two Polish military jet trainers acquired by the creator’s father in the 1990s and restored with more efficient Pratt & Whitney engines.
There is also a 1976 Hughes 269 Helicopter originally used by the Polish military for pilot training and subsequently restored by Ben’s father.
Now his father is ill and unable to fly or work on his aircraft collection, what is evident is Ben’s emotional connection to the contents of the hangar.
Viewers are encouraged to contact the family if they’re interested in their remaining aviation projects – including the Elvis jet.
What’s next for Webb? He recently found an abandoned Boeing 737 private jet and tried to start it.
All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
