Summary
- James Webb, a.k.a ‘Jimmy’s World,’ plans to drive Elvis’s JetStar to Oshkosh in 2024.
- The JetStar is being converted into an RV but may face challenges in becoming road-legal.
- Jimmy still has many hurdles to navigate before making the 1,000+ mile trip to Oshkosh.
YouTuber James Webb, better known as ‘Jimmy’s World,’ has laid out his ambitions to bring Elvis’s Lockheed Martin JetStar to Oshkosh in 2024. However, it won’t be flying in… he hopes to drive it from Florida!
Jimmy purchased the JetStar in 2023, paying $234,000 for the plane. Although he originally intended to restore it to flying condition, as he has done with many other vintage aircraft, it soon became clear this would not be possible. Aside from the $6 million estimate to make it airworthy, new FAA noise regulations mean it wouldn’t be permitted to fly.
Photo: Mecum Auctions
Instead, Jimmy has been converting it into what he hopes to become a road legal RV. By combining the fuselage of the JetStar with the chassis of a 1999 Freightliner motorhome, he’s produced something that looks almost like a vehicle. Sort of.
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Will it ever be road-legal?
In a bid to ensure he can get the JetStar approved for use on the road, Jimmy invited a local sheriff to inspect the vehicle.
The first issue is the height. According to the Sheriff, standard height limitations are around 13 and a half feet. Measuring the Elvis jet came out at 11 feet, so it is within tolerances. The width, which has a limit of 8 and a half feet, is bang on. So far, so good.
Length-wise, the jet has to be under 50 feet for a single unit. At 43 feet in length, it’s easily within this, although the nose cone is something of an issue.
Photo: Jimmy’s World | YouTube
Motor vehicles require a bumper on the front, designed to be the first point of contact in the event of a collision. The Elvis jet/RV has its chassis set back, with the nose cone of the aircraft protruding a good few feet beyond that. The sheriff suggests that the DMV may require an additional extension at the front to protect other road users from the nose.
While the measurements fall within generally accepted limitations for road vehicles, Jimmy still has a mountain to climb before he realizes his dream of driving to Oshkosh with the jet.
Photo: Jimmy’s World | YouTube
Sheriff Al admits to not being a ‘subject-matter expert’ on home-built vehicles but suggests that the licensing authorities will be concerned about things like lights, safety, and visibility from the cockpit.
Jimmy was hoping he could get away with simply updating the registration of the Freightliner motorhome he used as a base. However, the sheriff suggests it’s more likely to be considered a homemade vehicle, and therefore, Jimmy will need to begin the registration process from square one.
“It’s going to be a little bit of a coin toss; you’re going to have some challenges for sure.”
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Touring the interior
Jimmy took Sheriff Al to view the cabin of the aircraft/RV, which he says he has not cleaned or dusted since buying the aircraft last year. Inside, it’s a living time capsule from 1983, complete with magazines left in the aircraft when it was parked up.
The red velvet seats are still intact, and there’s even a working CRT television with a VCR attached (which, naturally, has a VHS tape stuck inside!). The Sheriff was quite taken with this museum of the past, saying,
“To say it’s cool is an understatement.”
From the cockpit, the view of the road around is severely limited. This could cause a problem in the bid to make it road-legal. Jimmy has also left the old yoke in as a steering wheel, which may not be ideal for complying with safety rules.
Jimmy has driven the RV, and on the road too. The team’s first outing with the JetStar went quite well, although Jimmy regularly had to ask his colleague Grizz if he was in his lane.
Will it make it to Oshkosh? It’s a drive of more than 1,000 miles, taking a regular car over 17 hours to make the trip. In a slow moving RV, that will probably be more like 20 hours. It’s ambitious (some would say crazy) and requires a lot of work to be finished in the next six weeks.
There is an alternative though. As the Sheriff suggested to Jimmy in the video, putting it on a trailer to get to Oshkosh and then driving it onto the airfield could be a solution. Whether it arrives under its own steam or on a truck, it’s sure to attract some attention at this year’s Oshkosh!