Hemisphere Dancer is singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett's personal seaplane. A GrummanHU-16 Albatrossflying boat, former U.S. Navy Bureau Number (BuNo) 137928 and civil registration number N928J. The aircraft is central to the action in Buffett's best-selling memoir A Pirate Looks at 50.
This aircraft began life on August 22, 1955, as a long range search and rescue platform for the U.S. Navy.[1] The largest member of the Grumman "waterfowl" series of amphibious airplanes, the Albatross remained in service with the U.S. Navy until the mid-1970s. After it remained inactive for a number of years, Buffett purchased the aircraft in the 1990s and restored it.
"Jamaica Mistaica"
This is the plane Buffett was flying during the incident recounted in the song "Jamaica Mistaica" on the album Banana Wind. While in Jamaica on January 16, 1996, Buffett's plane was shot at by Jamaican police. The Hemisphere Dancer was carrying Buffett, U2's lead singer Bono, his wife Ali, their children Jordan and Eve, and Island Records founder Chris Blackwell. Police suspected it was smuggling drugs. No one was hurt, although there were a few bullet holes in the plane.[2]
A Pirate Looks at 50
After making a number of other trips around the Caribbean with it, Buffett set off on a tour of the Caribbean, Central, and South America, in celebration of his 50th birthday. Accompanying him were his wife, son, youngest daughter, and some hired pilots to lighten the workload. Despite numerous efforts at obtaining the requisite clearances and permissions, the Hemisphere Dancer was only allowed to make a water landing once during the month-long odyssey. This action is chronicled in Buffett's autobiographical travelogue A Pirate Looks at 50, which was an immediate #1 best seller.
Cartoon of the Hemisphere Dancer on the wall at a Margaritaville restaurant
Since publication of A Pirate Looks at 50, the Hemisphere Dancer has become an icon of Parrothead culture, being featured on clothing, Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville restaurant menus, and as the namesake of drinks and garnishes at Margaritaville and Cheeseburger in Paradise Restaurants. It has made numerous visits to general aviation fly-ins such as the Sun 'n Fun and EAA AirVenture Oshkosh exhibitions.
In 2003, Buffett retired the aircraft from active flying service. It is now featured as an outdoor bar and seating area at Buffett's Margaritaville at Universal Orlando Resort's CityWalk in Orlando, Florida.
hemisphere, dancer, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, january. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Hemisphere Dancer news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message Hemisphere Dancer is singer songwriter Jimmy Buffett s personal seaplane A Grumman HU 16 Albatross flying boat former U S Navy Bureau Number BuNo 137928 and civil registration number N928J The aircraft is central to the action in Buffett s best selling memoir A Pirate Looks at 50 Hemisphere DancerThe Hemisphere Dancer parked at Jimmy Buffett s Margaritaville in Orlando Florida where it currently residesType Grumman HU 16C AlbatrossManufactured 1955Registration N928JOwners and operators Jimmy BuffettFate Retired on static displayPreserved at Jimmy Buffett s Margaritaville Orlando Florida Contents 1 History 1 1 Jamaica Mistaica 1 2 A Pirate Looks at 50 2 Current status 3 ReferencesHistory EditThis aircraft began life on August 22 1955 as a long range search and rescue platform for the U S Navy 1 The largest member of the Grumman waterfowl series of amphibious airplanes the Albatross remained in service with the U S Navy until the mid 1970s After it remained inactive for a number of years Buffett purchased the aircraft in the 1990s and restored it Jamaica Mistaica Edit This is the plane Buffett was flying during the incident recounted in the song Jamaica Mistaica on the album Banana Wind While in Jamaica on January 16 1996 Buffett s plane was shot at by Jamaican police The Hemisphere Dancer was carrying Buffett U2 s lead singer Bono his wife Ali their children Jordan and Eve and Island Records founder Chris Blackwell Police suspected it was smuggling drugs No one was hurt although there were a few bullet holes in the plane 2 A Pirate Looks at 50 Edit After making a number of other trips around the Caribbean with it Buffett set off on a tour of the Caribbean Central and South America in celebration of his 50th birthday Accompanying him were his wife son youngest daughter and some hired pilots to lighten the workload Despite numerous efforts at obtaining the requisite clearances and permissions the Hemisphere Dancer was only allowed to make a water landing once during the month long odyssey This action is chronicled in Buffett s autobiographical travelogue A Pirate Looks at 50 which was an immediate 1 best seller Current status EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed July 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Cartoon of the Hemisphere Dancer on the wall at a Margaritaville restaurantSince publication of A Pirate Looks at 50 the Hemisphere Dancer has become an icon of Parrothead culture being featured on clothing Jimmy Buffett s Margaritaville restaurant menus and as the namesake of drinks and garnishes at Margaritaville and Cheeseburger in Paradise Restaurants It has made numerous visits to general aviation fly ins such as the Sun n Fun and EAA AirVenture Oshkosh exhibitions In 2003 Buffett retired the aircraft from active flying service It is now featured as an outdoor bar and seating area at Buffett s Margaritaville at Universal Orlando Resort s CityWalk in Orlando Florida References Edit The Grumman Albatross Web Site BuffettWorld incidents JamaicaMistaica Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hemisphere Dancer amp oldid 1168005586, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
