Celebrating Walt Disney's birthday yesterday, The Palm Springs Air Museum opened a new exhibit to accompany Walt Disney's Grumman Gulfstream I airplane.
Rarely exhibited items from the interior of the aircraft, known as "The Mouse," are now on display for visitors to the Palm Springs Air Museum. Items include a customized instrument panel originally located near Walt's favorite onboard seat that allowed him to monitor flight conditions; a telephone handset that gave Walt a direct line of communication to the pilot in the cockpit; a flight bag featuring an image of Mickey Mouse sitting on the tail of the iconic plane; and more. These items are on long-term loan from the Walt Disney Archives to the museum.
The Palm Springs Air Museum, in conjunction with Phoenix Air, will restore and recreate the interior of the Gulfstream I to resemble what it looked like when Walt flew it in the 1960s. Museum Vice Chairman Fred Bell said, "We are so thrilled to partner with the Walt Disney Archives on this amazing restoration project. The Palm Springs Air Museum has restored over 60 aircraft in its 26-year history. Phoenix Air Group out of Cartersville, Georgia, has offered to donate any parts we need. Phoenix Air Group is a worldwide provider of aviation services, and at one point, owned and operated 20% of the world fleet of Gulfstream I's flying at the time. We know that we have a special responsibility to Walt Disney, to the Archives, and to the millions of Disney fans around the world to do this work as accurately as possible so that the airplane can be enjoyed for decades to come."
Walt acquired the iconic Gulfstream in 1963. The interior of the plane, initially designed with creative input from Walt and his wife, Lillian, seated up to 15 passengers and included a galley kitchen, two restrooms, two couches, a desk, and nods to the mouse who started it all, including matchbooks and stationery adorned with a silhouette of Mickey Mouse. Mickey's initials were eventually included in the tail number of the plane, too, as N234MM, in 1967
The restoration process is expected to take two years to complete.
The Palm Springs Air Museum is a living history museum that contains more than 75 vintage airframes, including those from the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk. The museum is also home to airframes from across the spectrum of military aviation: World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the F-117 Stealth Fighter. The planes are housed inside 91,000 square feet of open hangars and on the tarmac at a 10-acre facility. To learn more, visit PalmSpringsAirMuseum.org
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