 |
| Did you know that his luxury house is actually a private airport? |
you might know him from grease pulp
fiction and hairspray but one thing you
might not know about john travolta is
that he's a huge fan of planes he's a
licensed pilot and even has a mansion
that serves as his airport this property
in florida is one of the most impressive
ones that we've seen in a while and
you're about to see what makes it so
special john travolta being a fan of
aviation is no news but he decided to
take his hobby of flying into a
completely different dimension
in search for a home travolta hit the
jackpot when he found an estate that
could not only be a home but also be his
private airport,
the property is located in the jumbo
layer aviation estates in florida which
is a residential airpark it stretches
nearly 7 000 square feet and sits on
about 9.5 acres including the 7 500
square foot runway
together with his late wife kelly
preston they purchased the property for
3.5 million dollars in
and the couple was one of the first
residents to buy within the fly-in
community which contains about 550 acres
of lush florida country in the small
town of anthony just north of ocala but
the famous couple wasn't the only ones
who were part of this estate
in the 1980s arthur jones the inventor
of nautilus exercise equipment bought
the land which included the 7 000 square
foot home as well as the 450 surrounding
acres
since jones already owned a charter
boeing 707 he decided to upgrade the
property by adding a paved runway and
also adding about 88 730 square feet of
warehouse and a manufacturing complex
he also proceeded to upgrade the home by
adding a 400-seater banquet hall and
space for the refuge of the african
wildlife which included elephants
crocodiles and a 600-pound gorilla named
mickey living inside the compound in
1989 jones wife decided to make the
jumbo lair property into a fly-in
community for private jet owners which
is the thing that attracted travolta to
this place
the property was developed for 38 homes
and a huge main runway the entire runway
cost about six million dollars to build
and is designed to fit a large boeing
747 the one that jones had at the time
the decision made it possible for
travolta to move here but when he did he
went further into creating this show
into his own personal airport mansion
when we say an airport match and that's
exactly what we mean as you might be
confused about it but let's make it a
bit clearer travolta wanted to merge his
home and his love for aircraft into one
and having access to a runway next to
his house wasn't enough
after he bought the house he went on to
create two more runways that would allow
aircraft to go directly to the main
entrance of their house
with this he could fly in and fly out by
simply stepping out of his front door
and directly boarding a plane
the plan was to smash that like button
if you haven't done so already but no it
was to upgrade the house to fit all
their jets and have access that they
wanted to any of them at any given
moment
the house's exterior reveals a
functioning airport with two designated
parking bays for the gulf stream jets
it features an extended taxiway with
enough room for the superstar's aircraft
collection to dwell or take flight
there's also a massive car garage that
can fit 16 cars and a hangar where
multiple aircraft can be stored
travolta has been a licensed pilot since
he was 22 but his love for aviation
began when he was only 5 years old
he'd always dreamt of owning a house and
having planes in his front yard so when
he saw the opportunity he took it and
made his dreams come true
the outside of the house on the other
hand is made from thick concrete which
almost gives off a corporate appearance
it's white with floor-to-ceiling windows
which are mostly found on the backside
of the house
combined with the extended runway that
connects to his front door the house is
a dream come true for any aviation fan
his favorite part about the house apart
from the runway and aircraft is the back
side of the house this place is filled
with a pool and a hot tub as well as a
serene resort-like area with a slide and
an open patio space
there's also a grown-up playroom which
could be seen as a cabana equipped with
a bar resembling a vintage airport
lounge and enough room to turn it into a
dance floor
the designers of the mansion said that
travolta had a very clear image of how
he wanted his mansion to look and all
they needed to do to implement his ideas
into reality the house has a vintage
thunderbird located on the front drive
of their residence which was designed by
the architect of the mansion dana smith
the entire construction of the house
took about two years however the
planning for the entire estate took
about six years
the house's interior has been explained
to stepping into the pan am era of the
1960s the huge entrance hall features a
floor designed by travolta himself and
has a nautical compass image centered
it also features various model airplanes
displayed on a long wood cabinet the
entire mansion is covered with custom
hardwood floors and recessed lighting
the so-called great room is a space
inside the home that's been designed to
look like a vintage travel lounge
showcasing large curved window walls and
two double doors leading directly to the
tarmac
there's also various sophisticated
furniture covered in various materials
and fabrics such as a black marble-like
fireplace mantel
above it is a framed 1967 artwork by
alexander calder
it's a luxury home but the most special
part about it is the exterior now john
travolta has never hidden the fact that
he's fascinated with aircraft from a
very early age he knew he wanted to fly
a plane one day and by the age of 15 he
did
he immediately fell in love with
aviation and besides his busy schedule
of being an actor he dedicated enough
time to focus on his hobby which was
flying a plane
he received his first pilot's license in
1978 and became a qantas airways
ambassador in 2002
recently he got his aeronautical
credentials meaning he's now licensed to
fly a 737 aircraft and he considers this
moment to be very proud in his
aeronautical history adding the 737
licenses to his 747 and 707 licenses
he's been a qualified pilot for over 40
years now and has flown his fair share
of planes in his career he regularly
pilots his jets around the world
including a trip from his home in
florida to shannon ireland
throughout his life travolta has owned
several aircraft and currently it's
known that he owns about seven planes
all of them are kept in his florida
airport mansion but we're sure that he
smashed that subscribe button and ring
that notification bell but no in all
seriousness we're sure he has a favorite
he frequently upgrades his collection
with the newest and most powerful jets
in the world but there are a few that
have remained there from the moment he
purchased them
some of his most prized possessions are
the boeing 707 the bombardier challenger
601 and up to three gulfstream jets
these have been in his collection for a
long time and it appears he won't be
replacing them anytime soon
so let's take a deeper dive into his
prized collection worth millions of
dollars
in 2011 john travolta purchased a
bombardier challenger 601
since he has certifications to operate
11 types of jets and it wasn't an issue
to purchase the challenger when asked
what drew him towards the challenger
travolta said that the main thing was
the plane's canadair technology which
has evolved to an extraordinary degree
since the 1970s
and he mentioned that it was a 30 year
old learjet design and a plane that was
once owned by the creator of learjet
himself bill lear the jewel of
travolta's collection has to be the
boeing 707 business jet he bought about
20 years ago
initially he had a rental agreement with
qantas before the airline handed him the
jet as part of his brand ambassador role
it's been reported that the plane is
worth a shocking 77 million dollars 57
million dollars as a base price and 20
million more in interior design and
installation costs
the jet has a fuel range of 600 miles
this plane is huge and is designed to
carry up to 150 passengers
upon purchasing it travolta decided to
customize the jet and made it as
luxurious as possible
after the upgrade this jet was able to
fit about 15 people which was more than
enough for travolta and his family
inside the jet are two huge bedrooms a
living area and a dining room
however even after the customized work
travolta decided to donate the old
boeing 707 to the history aircraft
restoration society which is located at
a regional airport in sydney called
albion park airport out of the three
gulfstream aircraft he owns one sits
parked in the backyard of his florida
mansion while the others are kept inside
a hangar
while he doesn't own a boeing 737 he
does have a license to fly it and among
the many licenses he has the aircraft
he's certified to fly are gulfstream
challenger hawker and falcon and these
are just a few of the 11 certifications
he has surely his love for aviation
isn't going anywhere and we expect to
see his collection grow who knows maybe
his airport mansion will become much
bigger in the future to accommodate all
the planes he'll own