Where is Walt's plane? UPDATE - Coming to D23 2022

[Bullseye1967]

I'd be really curious about the timeline.

From what it looks like, they would have had to break down the plane to get it to that reedy creek lot. Yet it was wrapped up tight while on that lot.. inferring it had something worth protecting more than what they had done years prior. Was the exterior work done at that point?. If they had to break it down to get it to that lot, why reassemble it there vs storing it with the wings off, etc.

I'm super curious about the sequence of events here...

I don't know when or why they put the wings back on, but it came out of HS in 3 pieces via a crane. They strapped it on a flatbed and drove off with it. I was lucky enough to see it.

 

[castlecake2.0]

Will it have a ramp to go up into it?

I hope so, every single image of walt entering the plane is of him going up the ramp NOT A JETWAY!

 

[larryz]

View attachment 613809

Indiana Jones and the Graveyard of Planes

 

[larryz]

as we all know, the plane should go to Florida because the Walt Disney Company was started in Burbank, Florida all those years ago.

 

[larryz]

How many parsecs would it take Walt's plane to do the Kessel Run?

Kessell will be blown up in Star Wars X: George's Revenge, so it just doesn't matter.

 

[TikibirdLand]

Kessell will be blown up in Star Wars X: George's Revenge, so it just doesn't matter.

So, are you saying Walt's Gulfstream will stand in for Tattooine?

 

[larryz]

It is registered but not to Disney.

View attachment 614188

That's a V-tail Beechcraft Bonanza.

Beechcraft Bonanza - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[larryz]

So, are you saying Walt's Gulfstream will stand in for Tattooine?

I'm saying it'll be plundered in the desert on Tattooine. Cue the Jawas chasing off the Sand People.

 

[TikibirdLand]

That's a V-tail Beechcraft Bonanza.

Beechcraft Bonanza - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

My uncle worked for Beech back in the day. I remember seeing these coming off the assembly line.

 

[larryz]

N234MM has current registration. WDW Co. keeps the plane’s FAA cert up to date. I would not recommend trying to fly her though.

FTFY
The latest airworthiness date is listed as 1963. I doubt that it'd be considered airworthy without extensive work/inspection/test flights.

 

[larryz]

I don't know when or why they put the wings back on, but it came out of HS in 3 pieces via a crane. They strapped it on a flatbed and drove off with it. I was lucky enough to see it.

Look where the main landing gear pop out and it's obvious why they need the wings. I'm not an engineer, but I'm guessing the wings come off just outboard of the engine nacelles.

 

[FettFan]

More like:

View attachment 613799

"It'S LiKE poEtRY. iT RhyMES."

 

[Bullseye1967]

My uncle worked for Beech back in the day. I remember seeing these coming off the assembly line.

very cool!

 

[Bullseye1967]

FTFY
The latest airworthiness date is listed as 1963. I doubt that it'd be considered airworthy without extensive work/inspection/test flights.

The airworthiness date you see is the original cert date. Not sure why they do it like that.

 

[flynnibus]

Considering Disney really has no use for a plane of this vintage... they wouldn't get any value out of doing all the work to make it airworthy. And if they don't intend on selling the plane, no one else would get any value from that work either.

And once you do the work, you gotta keep spending to keep the plane in good status. So it's a recurring cost, not just a one time investment. So it's even less desirable to do that kind of investment.

It just doesn't make any sense to modernize and repair the plane to fly if no one is going to be flying it. And it's basically antiquated vs the practical needs. The only potential is something like marketing... but that seems incredibly unlikely vs just hauling it around on a truck when needed.

 

[Bullseye1967]

Considering Disney really has no use for a plane of this vintage... they wouldn't get any value out of doing all the work to make it airworthy. And if they don't intend on selling the plane, no one else would get any value from that work either.

And once you do the work, you gotta keep spending to keep the plane in good status. So it's a recurring cost, not just a one time investment. So it's even less desirable to do that kind of investment.

It just doesn't make any sense to modernize and repair the plane to fly if no one is going to be flying it. And it's basically antiquated vs the practical needs. The only potential is something like marketing... but that seems incredibly unlikely vs just hauling it around on a truck when needed.

The money would be well spent to bring the cabin back to looking good, so it could be a walk up display wherever it ends up. I agree there is no way they put in the money and effort to make it air worthy. But I do believe they are going to do more than just the exterior.

 

[flynnibus]

The money would be well spent to bring the cabin back to looking good, so it could be a walk up display wherever it ends up. I agree there is no way they put in the money and effort to make it air worthy. But I do believe they are going to do more than just the exterior.

I can see them redoing the cabin and maybe some visual work for a cabin.. but these kinds of aircraft make really bad displays They are too small to really cycle people through. It's worse than the railcars which is an example of some display that people typically can't get in because of similar space and wear constraints.

My money is on external with blocked windows... maybe a mocked up cockpit because you could probably bolt one together from another older plane with limited effort.

 

[Goofy213]

We all see what Disney does to classic airplanes.

 

[Bullseye1967]

I can see them redoing the cabin and maybe some visual work for a cabin.. but these kinds of aircraft make really bad displays They are too small to really cycle people through. It's worse than the railcars which is an example of some display that people typically can't get in because of similar space and wear constraints.

My money is on external with blocked windows... maybe a mocked up cockpit because you could probably bolt one together from another older plane with limited effort.

I think you misunderstood. I didn't mean walk through. I meant a platform on the outside people could walk by and look in. It was a very mass produced plane and getting parts would not be that big of an issue for the cockpit.

 

[No Name]

This is good news.

But there’s a small part of me that says this is DI$ “bringing up the name of the dead guy to try and score points with people we’ve seriously ****ed off in recent years”. Yes, they’ve pushed me to be that jaded.

I mean in all fairness that’s what they’ve been doing with Walt for decades, it’s really nothing new.