In 2022, Jimmy Buffett made an anonymous donation of two of his airplanes to the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile, Alabama.

USS ALABAMA Battleship Memorial Park is thankful to have received a generous donation of two aircraft made by the legendary singer and Mobile native, Jimmy Buffett. When the aircraft first arrived at the park, in 2022, Buffett wished to remain an anonymous donor. As the world mourns his passing, we are pleased to finally be able to share his generous contributions to the park. The Grumman Goose and Boeing Stearman are both on display in the Medal of Honor Aircraft Pavilion. Visitors will see a wreath and an iconic Hawaiian-styled shirt that has been placed by the Grumman Goose in honor of Buffett.

From WKRG:

Park Officials say Buffett’s camp contacted the Battleship Park Foundation in 2022 about donating the planes anonymously. The planes shipped in pieces and reassembled at the Medal of Honor Pavillion. They were publicly displayed while the donor remained private. It was a tough secret to keep.

“Now, the folks involved here, as we’re doing this project to not just say proudly, yes, guess what we have… Jimmy Buffett’s planes!” said Chairman of the USS Alabama Commission Terry Ankerson. He also went to school with Buffett at McGill-Toolen.

“He’ll always be part of Mobile. And this is one of those steps where Jimmy Buffett is part of Battleship Park,” said Ankerson. Officials with Battleship Memorial Park managed to keep Jimmy Buffett’s name under wraps for more than a year. They had planned on making a public announcement earlier this year. They say Buffett kept delaying it until time ran out. In retrospect, they realized the delays were due to Buffett’s declining health.

Read more about Jimmy and his passion for flying here.

You can see the Stearman in the music video for “Trip Around the Sun,” a duet with Martina McBride:

Jimmy Buffett has been in Japan over the last week where he played for US troops on Okinawa. See photos from his trip below:

This expression says it all. Incredible way to end the 2016 I Don't Know tour – thank you troops, for what you do and thank you Okinawa for the hospitality! Fins Up!

A photo posted by Jimmy Buffett (@jimmybuffett) on Oct 29, 2016 at 8:28am PDT

The opportunity to play for our service men and women in Okinawa is one we are not taking for granted! #bucketlist

A photo posted by Jimmy Buffett (@jimmybuffett) on Oct 27, 2016 at 7:24pm PDT

Found the bar and these kind Marines even bought me a drink! Fins up from the far side of the world.

A photo posted by Jimmy Buffett (@jimmybuffett) on Oct 27, 2016 at 4:34pm PDT

Surfing Okinawa!? That was cool

A photo posted by Jimmy Buffett (@jimmybuffett) on Oct 27, 2016 at 8:25pm PDT

Konnichiwa Tokyo!!

A photo posted by Jimmy Buffett (@jimmybuffett) on Oct 30, 2016 at 10:25am PDT

Alaska, as far as the eye can see

A photo posted by Jimmy Buffett (@jimmybuffett) on Oct 25, 2016 at 7:40am PDT

Check out this cool video of Jimmy Buffett going for a demo ride in the new Icon A5 amphibious airplane.

Jimmy Buffett has been an active pilot for over two decades. He owns several aircraft, including a couple of seaplane/amphibians. See photos and more videos of Jimmy flying on our Jimmy and Aviation page.

Jimmy Buffett has expanded his fleet of airplanes, adding a 2012 Pilatus PC-12 with the tail number N920JB.

The PC-12 is a Swiss-built single engine turboprop that can seat 8-9 people, cruise at 280 knots, and fly 1,573 nautical miles at 30,000 ft.

The airplane allows Buffett to fly shorter trips that wouldn’t be as practical in the Falcon 900, such as West Palm Beach to Orlando.

The PC-12 can also takeoff and land on much shorter runways, needing only 2,650 ft for takeoff at max weight.

Check out Jimmy’s other airplanes here.

For more information on the PC-12, visit www.pilatus-aircraft.com

On Thursday night, Jimmy Buffett, along with Mac McAnally and Robert Greenidge, played a benefit show for the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida:

“I kind of do this for a living, so I’ve seen a lot of crowds,” the singer/songwriter said, voice echoing through the National Naval Aviation Museum on Thursday night. “But I’ve got airplanes in attack mode aimed at me.”

Buffett grinned as his fans, gathered around the small stage, hooted their appreciation. He marveled at the jets once more.

“This is pretty cool.”

A typical understatement by the understated king of trop rock. But Thursday’s sold-out show was nothing short of paradise for Buffett’s loyal Parrot Heads.

Fans from all over the U.S. shelled out $500 each for the intimate, hour-long concert which raised about $250,000 for the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation.