Gulfstream III N32MJ, registered to Magic Johnson Entertainment, flies 57 miles from Mojave to Bakersfield in 19 minutes
Why It MattersShort hops between Californian regional airports show how large-cabin jets are being used for brief positioning legs, which carry a high emissions cost per mile flown compared with the distance covered.
A 1982 Gulfstream III with tail number N32MJ flew from Mojave Air and Space Port to Meadows Field in Bakersfield on October 21, 2026, covering the 57-mile great-circle distance in 19 minutes. It departed at 00:50 UTC and landed at 01:08 UTC, reaching an average ground speed of 159 knots and a top speed of 324 knots, with a highest altitude of 8,275 feet. The jet burned about 150 gallons of Jet-A, producing an estimated 1,437 kilograms of carbon dioxide, roughly equivalent to driving a car 3,557 miles. The flight used about 1 percent of the aircraft's total range.
The aircraft is registered to Magic Johnson Entertainment Inc of Los Angeles; the tail number combines his Lakers jersey number 32 and his initials. Its home base is Van Nuys Airport (KVNY), about 79 nautical miles from Bakersfield. This was the eighth landing by N32MJ at Meadows Field since September 8, 2026, after a previous Bakersfield landing on October 16 and a tracked landing at Mojave on October 18. In the 30 days before this flight, it visited 12 airports and flew about 3,886 nautical miles across 22 tracked flights totaling 23.2 hours, producing an estimated 106,967 kilograms of carbon dioxide. The most common destinations were Mojave (eight landings), Bakersfield (seven) and Portland (four), and the longest leg was Bakersfield to Midland on October 16 at 869 nautical miles.
The Gulfstream III is a large business jet, a stretched GII with a NASA-designed wing and winglets, with a range of 3,650 nautical miles, a ceiling of 45,000 feet, seating for up to 19 passengers and a top speed of Mach 0.85 (459 knots). It burns an estimated 480 gallons of Jet-A per hour. Mojave's longest runway is 12,503 feet at an elevation of 2,801 feet, and Meadows Field's is 10,849 feet at 510 feet. Magic Johnson leads Magic Johnson Enterprises, a company valued at more than $1 billion, and co-owns the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Sparks and the Washington Commanders. No scheduled public appearance or event tied to him or his organizations was found near Bakersfield on the date of the flight.
