Magic Johnson's Gulfstream III N32MJ Flies 43 nm From Inyokern to Mojave in 14 Minutes
Why It MattersShort repositioning hops like this show how large-cabin legacy jets such as the Gulfstream III are still used on brief regional sectors from Van Nuys, centred on Mojave.
A 1982 Gulfstream III registered as N32MJ flew from Inyokern Airport to Mojave Air & Space Port, covering 43 nautical miles (49 miles) in 14 minutes. The aircraft departed at 00:42 UTC and landed at 00:56 UTC, with an average ground speed of 180 knots, a top speed of 316 knots and a maximum altitude of 16,000 feet. The flight burned about 114 gallons of Jet-A, producing an estimated 1,094 kilograms of carbon dioxide, roughly the same as driving a car 2,708 miles.
The aircraft is registered to Magic Johnson Entertainment Inc of Los Angeles; its tail number combines Earvin "Magic" Johnson's Lakers jersey number 32 and his initials. Its home base is Van Nuys Airport (KVNY), about 54 nautical miles from Mojave. This was the tenth landing by N32MJ at Mojave since September 25, 2026; the previous Mojave landing was on November 11, less than one day earlier. Between September 25 and November 12, N32MJ made 37 tracked flights.
In the 30 days before this flight, N32MJ visited 11 airports and flew about 3,817 nautical miles across 20 tracked flights totaling 17.0 hours. The most common destinations were Mojave (nine landings), Bakersfield (eight) and Portland (seven). The longest leg in that period was Bakersfield to Midland on October 16, covering 869 nautical miles. Recent flights before this one included Apple Valley to Van Nuys on November 12 (27 minutes, 107 nautical miles) and Mojave to Victorville on November 11 (16 minutes, 56 nautical miles).
The Gulfstream III is a stretched GII with a NASA-designed wing and winglets. It is a large business jet with a range of 3,650 nautical miles, a ceiling of 45,000 feet, a top speed of Mach 0.85 (459 knots) and seating for up to 19 passengers. It burns an estimated 480 US gallons of fuel per hour, and this flight used about 1 percent of its total range. Inyokern Airport's longest runway is 7,100 feet at an elevation of 2,457 feet, while Mojave Air & Space Port, a civilian aerospace facility known for its long runway and use by test and cargo aircraft, has a longest runway of 12,503 feet.
Johnson is a five-time NBA champion with the Lakers, a Hall-of-Famer and head of Magic Johnson Enterprises, a company worth over $1 billion. He is also a co-owner of the LA Dodgers, LA Sparks and Washington Commanders.
