Over the 2013 Thanksgiving holiday, there was an unmarked beige with maroon trim airliner parked at Palm Springs International Airport, KPSP. Maybe a Boeing 737. I’ve seen it at the airport once before.
Who owns it?
Did you get the registration? There’s no such thing as a truly “unmarked” aircraft because they all are required to have a mark on them - the registration.
I couldn’t get close enough to read the registration number.
I noticed the plane late Saturday afternoon, Nov. 30, 2013, at Atlantic Aviation.
It was gone by the time I returned Sunday afternoon.
I couldn’t find a plane meeting its description on Flight Aware departures. The N-Number may have been blocked.
I contacted a reporter for the Los Angeles Times who wrote a puff piece on KPSP.
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-palm-springs-airport-20131205,0,1467160.story#axzz2muP06VJw
He wrote back:
I asked about that plane while I was there. Airport officials declined to tell me who owned it.
How’s that for investigative journalism?
I saw it on a previous Veteran’s Day at Signature Flight Support.
I’ve checked pictures of private 737’s on the internet, and none match the beige with maroon accent stripes along the windows color scheme. The paint was still very glossy.
There are a lot of big name people who own winter homes here, but most seem to be flying Gulfstream V’s.
That would likely make it a Boeing Business Jet, or BBJ. Do a Google image search or check Airliners-Net and see if you find the plane in question.
Maybe N766VA, N767VA, or N768VA? All are in the color scheme you described and are known for having the registration painted on with a very low contrast color.
Maybe 888ty, Ty Warner creator of beanie babies
The paint style was similar to Vision’s N-767VA, except the body was beige, and the stripe maroon.
Well you said maybe a 737, could it have been this? beige w/maroon stripe?
The fuselage was a solid color, darker than the color shown, maybe tan is a better description.
The maroon color was limited to a stripe along the sides.
Does this plane have one of those Vision Air low contrast N-numbers?
Mystery solved?
I think the plane in question is N162WC owned by Dennis Washington who has a winter home in Indian Wells, CA.
http://washcorp.com
http://riverside.blockshopper.com/property/623050011/47015_w_eldorado/
Here is what FlightAware has to say about it.
http://discussions.flightaware.com/charter-and-private/no-more-netjets-bbj-s-t11083.html
I took the picture March 21, 2014, outside of Signature Flight Support, Palm Springs Airport.
I thought the one I saw was tan instead of white. I guess this was an optical illusion since I saw the plane from the Palm Springs Air Museum at dusk which is at the other side of the airport; in the background, at the upper left-hand corner of the picture.
The plane is in flight here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz3qajzBBQs&feature=player_embedded
She doesn’t have the lower portion of her winglets now.
His wife has a high-end antique store in Palm Desert.
http://www.maisonfelice.com
I also saw his other jet, N166WC there too.
Must be nice to have his and her jets.
Here’s a list that includes his other aircraft.
http://www.aircraftone.com/aircraft/registrations/missoula-mt-montana.asp?spg=5
What’s with Missoula, MT having so many registrations?
KPSP has been having wind gusts to 35 mph. Some flights were diverted to LAX. How high a wind gust can a 737-7BC survive untied before it’s pushed around?
I wish to thank everyone who has taken part in this thread helping me to identify this private airliner.