Disney's Plane

[no1swfanindy]

I have been on the backlot tour several times and have read in books that the plane on the tour is THE plane Disney flew in when looking at the property that would eventually become WDW.

I don't know about most of you but that plane looks like a prop to me. It's too small. I'm only abou 5'5" and it doesn't look like I could stand up in it. There is definately no way two people (pilot and co-pilot) could fit in the cockpit.

I could be wrong, but it doesn't seem to be true to me. Anybody have any ideas or proof that I am wrong? :shrug:

 

[Timmay]

I have been on the backlot tour several times and have read in books that the plane on the tour is THE plane Disney flew in when looking at the property that would eventually become WDW.

I don't know about most of you but that plane looks like a prop to me. It's too small. I'm only abou 5'5" and it doesn't look like I could stand up in it. There is definately no way two people (pilot and co-pilot) could fit in the cockpit.

I could be wrong, but it doesn't seem to be true to me. Anybody have any ideas or proof that I am wrong? :shrug:

This is the type of plane that sits in the backlot...trust me, it is the real deal. A gruman G-159.
http://www.airliners.net/aircraft-data/stats.main?id=236

Oh, here is the actual plane...
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/3401230

 

[krankenstein]

Get on a Gulfstream. Walt's plane is huge in comparison.

 

[marni1971]

It`s real. World drive was closed in 1992 for it to land on the highway. A large crane then lifted it over the berm into the Studios complex.

 

[Courtman]

It`s real. World drive was closed in 1992 for it to land on the highway. A large crane then lifted it over the berm into the Studios complex.

Wow, as a pilot myself I think that would have been fun to do!

The Gulfstream 1 is a pretty big aircraft of its day and would have been great for aerial survey like that - it has big windows to look out, is relatively slow compared to jets and will fly for hours before needing to land. Very popular transport back in the 70's and 80's.

 

[Disneychild92]

It`s real. World drive was closed in 1992 for it to land on the highway. A large crane then lifted it over the berm into the Studios complex.

i would love to see pics of that or a vid

 

[Courtman]

In fact, having just looked at Google Earth I take back my previous comment about landing there being fun.... It would be CHALLENGING to put it politely!

From the Osceola Parkway bridge (was that there in 1992?) there is only 450m before the road bends left a good 15-20deg. At a push you may get 700m of straight landing roll past that bend on the westbound carriageway, which is only 1/3rd the width of a normal runway!

Marni, if you have video or pics of this event I'd be very interested, must have taken a pilot with nerves of steel to land something so historic on such a challenging landing strip!

 

[no1swfanindy]

This is the type of plane that sits in the backlot...trust me, it is the real deal. A gruman G-159.
http://www.airliners.net/aircraft-data/stats.main?id=236

Oh, here is the actual plane...
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/3401230

Thanks for the links. I wish they had pics of someone standing in the passenger section. The dimentions given for the plane still don't seem to add up to the plane at HS. Maybe it's an optical illusion on my part but it still looks too small.

 

[Brad]

Sure you're not thinking of the model plane from Con Air?

 

[no1swfanindy]

sure you're not thinking of the model plane from con air?

lol :roflol:

 

[marni1971]

October 8th 1992:

 

[Vernonpush]

Wow, as a pilot myself I think that would have been fun to do!

The Gulfstream 1 is a pretty big aircraft of its day and would have been great for aerial survey like that - it has big windows to look out, is relatively slow compared to jets and will fly for hours before needing to land. Very popular transport back in the 70's and 80's.

But Walt would have used it in the 60's- how "forward" thinking of him :lol:.

 

[hpyhnt 1000]

October 8th 1992:

Martin, you continue to amaze me. Where do you find these things? :lol: Great pics, though. :wave:

 

[joel_maxwell]

It`s real. World drive was closed in 1992 for it to land on the highway. A large crane then lifted it over the berm into the Studios complex.

Huh, with 2 overpasses right there, i wonder how hard they had to hit the brakes Like landing at St John in the USVI

 

[Disney05]

Get on a Gulfstream. Walt's plane is huge in comparison.

What kind of Gulfstream are you talking about??? Maybe you're thinking Citation.

 

[Rob562]

Huh, with 2 overpasses right there, i wonder how hard they had to hit the brakes Like landing at St John in the USVI

I don't believe Osceola Parkway was there in 1992. Even the World Drive/US192 interchange was redone within the past 10 years, adding more ramps and lanes. So there would have been plenty of landing space in 1992.

-Rob

 

[disneytopdog]

If Walt used that plane to survey the land for WDW did it have Mickey on the tail back then like it does now?

From what I have read, the project was supposed to be so HUSH HUSH, that the lawyers and Disney Execs had to take commercial flights to other parts of the country before heading back to the west coast, to throw people off.

A plane with a Mickey Mouse on it flying over empty central Florida pasture land would raise some eyebrows. Especially if they had to refuel before leaving the central Florida area.

 

[raven]

That IS the plane all right. And the original air strip he used is still near the TTC. When Grad Nights used to be at MK they used the air strip to park in.

 

[no1swfanindy]

October 8th 1992:

Thanks for the pics. Seeing someone standing next to the plane helps add scale to it.

 

[rainfully]

October 8th 1992:

Oh, man... THANK YOU for posting that first pic... not so much for the plane (though that is cool!) but the sign... I could have SWORN that Mickey peeked out from behind some signs a few years ago... awesome to know that it wasn't just my imagination! :lol: