Looking back at Jimmy Buffett’s private jet collection

Jimmy Buffett is one of the most well-known musicians of all time. Born in Mississippi in December 1946, Buffett was responsible for his tropical rock-sounding music. He also portrayed his lifestyle as “island escapism” and focused his music on promoting enjoying the good things in life. Because of his relatable and fun-loving music, Buffett rose to fame with over 30 albums, nine of which are certified as platinum records, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time.

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His success in the music industry led to several other business ventures. These include the Margaritaville restaurant and hotel chain, a Landshark Lager beer, and even investing in multiple minor-league baseball teams. This led to Buffett becoming one of the world’s wealthiest musicians, and he maintained a net worth of over $1 billion.

Buffett also found an early love for aviation after taking flight lessons during his college days. Because of his wealth, Buffett was the owner of several planes throughout his years.

Let’s take a closer look at the unique fleet of aircraft that Buffett owned.

Dassault aircraft

One of the aircraft that Buffett owned at the time of his passing was a Dassault Falcon 900EX. This aircraft was built in 2007 and is registered as N990FL. Buffett’s specific aircraft is configured to fit 21 seats, per FlightAware, and was owned by one of Buffett’s companies called Strange Bird Inc. This trijet aircraft has the following performance specifications:

Previously, Buffett owned two other Dassault aircraft. The first one was another Falcon 900. This aircraft was a 1992 variant that was registered as N908JB. Buffett owned this aircraft until 2013, per FlightAware. This popular aircraft was an earlier variant of the Falcon 900EX that Buffett frequently flew. Dassault began producing the Falcon 900 in the early 1980s.

Photo: Robert Buchel | Shutterstock

The second Dassault aircraft that Buffett previously owned was a Falcon 50 that was registered as N502JB. The Falcon was another trijet variant that was eventually developed into the basic Falcon 900. Dassault produced the smaller Falcon 50 from 1976 to 2008.

Pilatus aircraft

Buffett also owned a Pilatus PC-12. This aircraft was a 2012 PC-12 registered as N920JB. This turboprop aircraft could fit a total of eleven passengers per FlightAware. The aircraft had the following specifications:

The PC-12 was first developed as a high-performance turboprop in the 1990s. However, the PC-12 has since evolved into a passenger aircraft, a cargo aircraft, or even a special mission aircraft.

The configuration that Buffett utilizes fits a larger capacity, meaning that his aircraft could be used as transport for several passengers. The PC-12 is a rugged aircraft that can fly to a wide variety of airports, including airports with short runways or even just grass or dirt strips.

Cessna aircraft

Buffett owned several types of Cessna transport aircraft. Both were registered as N208JB, although he owned several Cessna 208 Caravans that were registered under this tag in series. Buffett’s most recently owned Caravan was a 2009 built aircraft with ten seats.

Buffett also put this aircraft on floats, making the aircraft a float plane. These aircraft can land on lakes or bodies of water, which Buffett did frequently.

Photo: Philip Schubert | Shutterstock

Overall, the Cessna 208 Caravan is another successful turboprop aircraft. The aircraft was first developed in the 1980s and has been in constant production since, with over 3,000 aircraft built. Several variants have been developed in addition to the float plane variant, including troop transport aircraft and cargo transport aircraft for FedEx.

Grumman aircraft

One of the most recently-owned planes by Buffett was a Grumman Goose. This historical aircraft was registered as N48550 and was first flown in 1939. This vintage aircraft had the ability to land on water, due to the location of its engines high on the wings. In 2023, Buffett donated this historic aircraft to the USS Alabama Battleship Foundation.

Previously, Buffett owned two other Grumman aircraft. The first one was a Grumman Albatross registered as N928J. This aircraft, built in 1954, is another vintage aircraft in Buffett’s collection.

This was another amphibious seaplane that was used primarily as a search and rescue aircraft. Over 450 of these aircraft were produced.

Buffett’s other amphibious seaplane was his Grumman Widgeon, registered as N1471N. This historical aircraft was built in the 1940s. This aircraft was initially developed as an antisubmarine aircraft but was later utilized as a utility machine by the US Navy, the US Coast Guard, and the Royal Navy.

Boeing aircraft

The final aircraft in Buffett’s historical aircraft collection was a Boeing E-75 Stearman. This aircraft is registered as N43320 and was another aircraft that Buffett donated to the USS Alabama Battleship Foundation. This aircraft was originally developed as a military trainer in the 1930s but has since been converted to crop dusters and sports planes after World War II.

Photo: Ryan Fletcher | Shutterstock

Stearman engineers took an early design from Lloyd Stearman himself to create this aircraft. Several improvements were made before introducing the aircraft in 1934. Over 8,500 aircraft were built, mostly during World War II. A large surplus of aircraft were left over after the war, which led to the conversion to other civilian aircraft.

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