Flight Fridays
Flight Fridays: Inside Walt Disney’s Personal Plane, “Mickey Mouse One”
Walt Disney’s personal airplane is taking center stage in this week’s Flight Fridays from the Palm Springs Air Museum.
NBC Palm Springs’ Mark Mester joins museum Chairman Fred Bell for a closer look at “Mickey Mouse One,” a Grumman Gulfstream I purchased by Walt Disney Productions in 1963.
Disney used the aircraft to make travel more productive, often working while flying between destinations and developing ideas for his entertainment business.
Inside, the plane features distinctive details connected to Disney’s legacy. Bell points out the original design touches, including decorative separators that incorporated leaves from a tree at the Disney family home.
The aircraft was retired in 1992 and has since undergone an extensive restoration. Museum volunteers spent the past three years replacing and refurbishing elements throughout the cabin, from the seats and tables to its large oval windows.
Bell says the restoration relied heavily on volunteer labor, helping make a project of this scale possible.
The aircraft’s name also carries a playful tribute to Mickey Mouse, whose initials appear in the plane’s tail registration. And, much like Disneyland, the aircraft contains hidden Mickeys for visitors to discover.
The result is a rare look at a piece of aviation and entertainment history, preserved at the Palm Springs Air Museum.
Flight Fridays returns next week with another historic aircraft.
By: NBC Palm Springs
October 23, 2026
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