Posts in the category "Celebrities":

In May I took a little road trip to visit the RV Museum and Hall of Fame in Elkhart, Indiana for an msnbc.com story about the  the RV industry: Celebrating 100 years on the road.

A 1954 Yellowstone Travel Trailer - with two doors

So I was intrigued when I saw a story about the 26-foot 1958 Airstream Overlander trailer being gutted and re-modeled by a group of students at Washington State University in Spokane.

They’ve been working on it all summer and, according to a university report, “Part of the focus of the project is to explore the sustainability issues of today’s society and challenge the current image of the travel trailer industry.”

They’ve gutted the inside, but luckily they’re committed to preserving the trailer’s historic exterior character.

Here’s a short video on their progress:

And here’s the part I’m especially excited about: this fall, when the Airstream is all shiny and renovated,  the students will be taking the trailer on the road to show off their handiwork.  (And party?) After that, the updated WSU Airstream trailer will be either given away in a contest or sold. To find out what happens, follow them on Facebook or Twitter.

And for inspiration, here are few photos from the collection of the RV Museum and Hall of Fame:

Mae West's 1931 Chevrolet trailer

1936 Airstream Clipper

(Vintage RV photos courtesy RV Museum and Hall of Fame)

Categories: Celebrities, Getting around, Road Trip, Uncategorized
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There are more than 700 aviation and space museums around the country. Each Monday we profile one of them. Eventually we’ll hit them all.

Today, to mark the anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death on August 16^th, 1977, we’ll make a stop at Graceland, where two of Elvis’s jets are on display.

This Lockheed JetStar was dubbed Hound Dog II:

Hound Dog II, Elvis Presley's Lockheed JetStar

(Photo courtesy jbcurio, via Flickr).

According to this article, Elvis purchased this  Lockheed JetStar in September, 1975 for $899,702, while waiting for his other plane, the Lisa Marie (below), a Convair 880 Jet previously owned by Delta Airlines, to arrive.

At Graceland, visitors sit in a mock 1970′s-era airline terminal to see a short film about Elvis and his airplanes and are then allowed to tour the JetStar and the Lisa Marie, which was also known as Hound Dog I or Flying Graceland.

Elvis Presley's airplane - the Lisa Marie - at Graceland

(Photo courtesy rgblasson via Flickr

Sadly, I haven’t had the pleasure of visiting Graceland. Yet. But when I do, I’ll make a beeline for the airplanes. First stop, the Lisa Marie. According to this article, the airplane has a seating area, conference room, library and plush bedroom with an executive bathroom equipped with gold washbasin and faucets.

Have you seen Elvis’s airplanes at Graceland? Share details of your visit below.

And please let us know if you have a nomination for an aviation or space museum you’d like to see featured on a future edition of Museum Monday here at StuckatTheAirport.com.

A favorite: Elvis and Nixon

Categories: Airplanes, Aviation history, Celebrities, Exhibits, History, Layover, Museum Monday, Museums, Uncategorized
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Earlier this week, while waiting for Captain Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger’s presentation at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, I spent some time in the Amelia Earhart exhibit.  And while I don’t think I’ll take up flying my own plane anytime soon, I keep thinking about getting some new luggage.

Amelia Earhart endorsed a long list of products ranging from cars, cigarettes and clothing to what one press release described as nothing less than “the first truly practical and genuine airplane luggage.”

Earhart may have disappeared in 1937, but it appears a line of luggage bearing her name was produced well into the 1990′s.   And while I haven’t come upon anything from that line in the thrift stores near me, I did poke around the Museum of Flight gift shop to see if I could find something under $10 and “Amelia” for today’s Souvenir Sunday feature.

The only items that fit the bill were a few young adults books, including this one from the National Geographic Children’s Books series that includes photos, quotes from Earhart’s writings, theories about how she vanished, and maps of the route she followed on her last flight.

Categories: Air Travel, Aviation history, Baggage, Celebrities, Exhibits, History, Museums, Souvenirs, aviation
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Monday evening I was fortunate to be in the audience at Seattle’s Museum of Flight for a  presentation by the recently retired Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the now-legendary pilot of US Airways Flight 1549 who was able to successfully land a plane in New York City’s Hudson River.

He began the evening by showing the NTSB’s animated version of the US Airways 1549 flight path (below) and then went on to talk a bit about his family, his upbringing, his training as a pilot, the importance of preparation and teamwork, and his philosophy of work and life. After he was done, some of the kids in the audience got to ask a few questions as did some of the aviation geeks from our high-tech community.

(Here’s a link to a more detailed report on the evening by SeattlePI.com aerospace reporter Aubrey Cohen)

Before Captain Sullenberger’s speech, I spent some time in the Amelia Earhart exhibit, which will be at the museum until May, 2010. In addition to photo panels and film clips telling Ms. Earhart’s life story, there’s a section showing some of the products she endorsed to help pay the bills, including Amelia Earhart luggage and Lucky Strike cigarettes.

All in all, quite an inspiring evening.

Categories: Air Travel, Air traffic control, Aviation history, Celebrities, Exhibits, History, aviation
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If you’re traveling to or from New Zealand or Australia, you’ll have a make a connection in California at either LAX or SFO.

San Francisco would like you to make your connection through San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and has kicked off the “I Wanna Go Through SFO” campaign to urge folks to consciously make the choice to connect through SFO rather than LAX. The campaign includes this sort of cute video, which includes cameos by Mayor Gavin Newsom and the iconic SF Twins and lines like “…there’s the bad airport and then there’s San Franscisco International Airport.”

OK, LA. Let’s see what’s you’ve got!

Categories: Celebrities, Entertainment
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