What’s black and gold and sitting in a hangar in Plant City on a stack of tires?
The private jet formerly owned by Hustler founder Larry Flynt. And it can be yours — part of it, at least.
Ozzie Saez, operator of Aero Salvage Design, listed the 2006 Gulfstream G-IV on Facebook Marketplace earlier this month for a mere $18,000. The original sticker price would have been around $35 million, he said.
Of course, this particular jet is missing its Rolls-Royce engines, wings, landing gear, windshield and custom interiors.
The gold label reading “Hustler” on the exterior is intact, one of the last marks of the pornographer and free speech advocate who was portrayed by an Oscar-nominated Woody Harrelson in 1996′s “The People Vs. Larry Flynt.” Flynt died last year.
Saez, who salvages decommissioned aircraft from airlines and private owners, said a 16-year-old jet could still be flight-ready, but sometimes used jets are worth more for parts.
Regular operation and maintenance on a private jet can run hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. The inspections and refurbishments needed every several years can cost far more, Saez said, and sometimes it’s not worth it.
Fortune estimated Flynt’s net worth at the time of his death in 2021 at $500 million.
“With this one,” Saez said, “the engines alone were worth more than the whole aircraft with the engines attached.”
Normally Saez chops up what’s left after usable parts are sold and builds custom furniture that’s popular with the aviation crowd. He left this jet more intact, so far, because of the Flynt novelty.
What’s left of the fuselage will soon be cut In two. Saez sold the first 26 feet, including the flight deck, to a buyer who plans to create some sort of “moving display.” The remaining 64 feet is still up for grabs.
“It would make a great tiny house, or a VIP lounge,” Saez said. “Especially with all the strip clubs around here.”
Saez has in recent years seen an uptick in people wanting old planes to use as habitable space. He has sold fuselages to an Airbnb operator who wanted the hull for guests, and a guy who turned one into his pool house.
“It’s all aluminum or titanium, so it’s more durable than anything you could build from conventional materials,” he said. “Do the math, and the cost is justifiable.” The G-IV is large enough that an adult can stand up inside.
Saez said he doesn’t know what led to Flynt’s plane landing in the scrapyard.
Flynt owned several jets over his lifetime. A 1998 feature published by Jet Editor said he’d owned four at that point, but noted that, “to the surprise of many, Flynt’s aircraft are not … party aircraft.” A Flynt employee was quoted saying, “The only women we carry onboard are company executives, Larry’s fiancee Liz Berrios and wives of company staff.”
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The article also noted that the jet was stocked with copies of Hustler that were handed out to control tower staff excited to see the publisher’s plane land at their airport.
Flynt said he flew private, in part, because of his condition. Famously the defendant in a defamation lawsuit from Jerry Falwell that went to the Supreme Court, Flynt used a wheelchair after he was shot outside the Gwinnett County Courthouse in March 1978.
If Saez can’t sell what’s left of Flynt’s jet for around $15,000, he plans to cut it up for other uses. If he makes furniture, he’ll attach a plate to each piece saying it came from Flynt’s plane and sell it on his website, aerosalvagedesign.com.
Enterprise Reporter
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