This ‘Con Air’ Boeing 727 was just sold for peanuts after being rescued from an abandoned field near El Paso Airport in Texas, where it had lived for 20 years.
To be fair, ‘lived’ is a generous term.
The plane is in terrible condition with missing bits and tech.
But the people who bought it have an interesting plan for it.
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The reason why this Boeing 727 was so cheap
This Boeing 727 (slightly smaller than its ‘brother’, the 707), formerly used as a Con Air (transportation of prisoners) aircraft, was abandoned at El Paso Airport in Texas about 20 years ago.
Built in 1966, the aircraft remained operational for about 30-odd years but then, in the early 2000s, it was abandoned and it has been ‘gutted’ for parts since.
And you can tell.
The interior, for instance, is completely barren with just three seats.
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The plane is no longer airworthy, and it’ll probably never be airworthy again, which explains the low sale price.
The winning bid was $8,320, plus taxes and fees.
You can’t even buy a car for that.
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Interestingly, the new owners have no intention of making it airworthy again – partly because they know they wouldn’t be able to, but also because they have a different idea.
Apparently, they want to refurbish the jet and turn it into a local landmark with an ‘immersive aviation experience’ for people.
That’s why the movie was titled Con Air
Con Air is simply a nickname for the Justice Prisoner Air Transportation System (JPATS), but the name probably stuck because it’s catchier than the official acronym.
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Probably the same reason why US Secret Service call it the ‘Presidential Limo‘, but everyone calls it ‘The Beast’.
A 90s blockbuster starring Nicolas Cage, Ving Rhames, and John Cusack (among others), also used the name.