The Cosmic Muffin Cosmic Muffin's "Stratospheric Price! Howard Hughes’ 1939 Boeing 307 Stratoline
Private Yacht, once owned by Jimmy Buffett is on Ebay for $9,000,000.00 (This ebay auction ended on 2/25/05) (PRWEB) February 26, 2005 -- As mentioned in The Aviator with Leonardo DiCaprio, this was the first commercially built pressurized airplane that was designed to fly above the weather, or 20,000 feet, that was the reason for Howard Hughes purchasing TWA in 1939. This plane was one of ten built and only one of two still in existence. The other surviving 307 Stratoliner is owned by the National Air and Space Museum at the new Dulles Udvar-Hazy Annex. In 1964 due to damage from Hurricane Cleo in Fort Lauderdale the surviving Hughes 307 fuselage was saved and modified into a 56’ yacht and launched in 1974. In 1992, while cruising around Fort Lauderdale, Jimmy Buffett discovered the “Plane Boat” and wrote her into his best- selling novel “Where is Joe Merchant?” He later composed “Desdemona’s Building a Rocketship”, from the “Banana Wind” CD also about the vessel. This is the only land-based airplane turned yacht in the world and now functions as a personal yacht for David Drimmer and Aaron Kiss, owners of “Photo Sails”, a new and worldwide patented advertising medium featured at Photosails.com. Now this fully functional yacht is operated using the original 1939 aircraft controls that used to fly the plane. Powered by twin Yamaha 50 HP four-stroke, high-thrust motors and capable of cruising at 13 knots, this extremely maneuverable vessel can turn 360 degrees in its own length. Teak and holly wooden floors now adorn the entire sole of the vessel and its newly rebuilt hull is in perfect shape. A generator and new electronics along with original Raymond Loewy designed furniture and fittings are featured in the salon next to the original bar that Rita Hayworth had custom windows installed so she could see the clouds go by while she poured martinis for many famous guests like Hedda Hopper and George Jessel. Countless media outlets, including People, Oprah, Ripley’s, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Travel, Discovery, HGTV channels, have enjoyed the privilege of exposing the now named “Cosmic Muffin”, the name chosen by Jimmy Buffett and remains the name of the craft today. For more information, visit Planeboats.com