Wanna Buy A Plane (or two)?

Any visitor to Graceland has no doubt taken a tour of the famous planes once owned by the king. Over the past several months there has been some talk of the famous flyers being auctioned off to make room for renovations at the popular tourist site here. Now it seems to be coming true.

Julien’s Auctions has confirmed they are handling the sale of the aircraft in a sealed bid auction. The Lisa Marie and Hound Dog II are no longer flight worthy and are being offered together to bidders and are expected to bring in some $10 million to $15 million as they are being offered together.

In 1975 Elvis bought the Convair 880 from Delta Airlines for $250,000 and named it Lisa Marie. He spent an additional $350,000 on the plane customizing it with a penthouse bedroom, executive conference room, bar and video tape system linked to three TVs, painted it red, white and blue and added his famous “TCB” on the tail. All complete with a gold plated bathroom sink. It could fly the king and 28 others on a single 3,000 mile trip.

Also in 1975, Elvis bought the Lockheed JetStar Hound Dog II (while waiting on the Lisa Marie refurbishments) for $900,000. It can seat 10.

Interestingly, the new owners also have the option to buy several acres of land adjacent to Graceland to display the aircraft separate from the Presley Museum sites already in existence.

Hopefully, the new owners will keep the planes here in Memphis where fans can continue to enjoy the travelling trappings of the “King of Rock and Roll”.

Here’s more from Julien’s Auctions from Beverly Hills, California.

The sealed bid auction closes February 2, 2015.