Not only is it Christmas, but it’s also Jimmy Buffett’s birthday! He turns 63 today.

par
par
Happy Birthday to Jimmy and Merry Christmas to all!

par
par

In the past few months Jimmy Buffett has shuffled his airplane inventory, replacing his Caravan amphibious floatplane with a brand new version and also adding another seaplane.

According to records, Buffett now owns a 2009 Cessna 208 Caravan with registration number N915JB. His previous Caravan (N208JB) was a ’98 model.

Buffett also now owns a 1939 Grumman Goose seaplane with registration number N48550 (pictured top right). N48550 flew in the Navy early in its career, then spent several years with Alaska Coastal Airlines and Antilles Air Boats before being bought by an individual in 1990. In terms of size, the Goose is larger than the Widgeon but smaller than the Albatross.

Below is a video from Margaritaville.com’s Buffet Hotel video collection of Buffett flying the Goose to the tune of the new song “Wings” :

In addition to the Caravan and Goose, Buffett owns a Falcon 900 jet, a Stearman biplane, and a Grumman Albatross dubbed The Hemisphere Dancer (now on display at the Orlando Margaritaville).

Learn more about Jimmy and aviation here.

Jimmy and Jane Buffett recently hosted a kickoff celebration for the Child Study Center Foundation at their home:

As far we know, no one was searchin’ for [their] lost shaker of salt at Jimmy Buffett’s home during the kickoff celebration for the Child Study Center Foundation.

That was probably a positive, as this isn’t really margarita season, and it also enabled guests such as Ronald Perelman, Jon Corzine, Linda Carter and Claude Wasserstein to discuss the charity more coherently. The author and musician and his wife, longtime supporters of the organization, looked every bit as casual as they would, say, at the beach.

Jimmy Buffett is lending his hand to Marine Stadium, a Miami landmark that has been in disrepair since Hurricane Andrew damaged it in 1992. Originally built for hydroplane racing, the venue hosted several Jimmy Buffett concerts, including the 1985 show that was taped for the Live By The Bay VHS.

Jimmy has cut a video in support of the stadium:

Visit miamistadium.org for more information.

The Belfast Telegraph has an article that includes excerpts from a book that details U2 singer Bono’s experience onboard the Hemisphere Dancer during the Jamaica Mistaica incident:

The U2 singer, his wife Ali and their children Jordan and Eve, then aged just six and three, were lucky to escape with their lives after 100 rounds of bullets were fired at them.

They had flown into the Caribbean country on an Albatross World War Two seaplane for a holiday in January 1996.

But as they were landing authorities mistook them for drug smugglers and fired a hail of bullets while the family was disembarking.

The plane was hit at least seven times.

Bono said at the time: “I don’t know how we came through it.

“These boys were shooting all over the place.

“I felt as if we were in the middle of a James Bond movie — only this was real.

“It was absolutely terrifying and I honestly thought we were all going to die.

“Thank God we were safe and sound. My only concern was for their safety.

“It was very scary, let me tell you.

“You can’t believe the relief I felt when I saw the kids were okay.”

The incident has been recalled in a new book, Stop The Press: An Inside Story Of The Tabloids In Ireland, written by journalist John Kierans.

Bono, Ali and their children dived for cover fearing they were about to be killed, but miraculously survived unhurt.

Bono was so shocked that he and his family left Jamaica and flew straight to Miami, Florida.