Air Force One: The World’s Most Recognizable Plane
"Air Force One" is the designation given to any fixed-wing aircraft the president happens to be on. Usually it is one of two 747's, but I believe when President George W. Bush flew aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln a year ago that fighter was then known as "Air Force One." Sometimes the Vice-President is the featured passenger, at which time it is called "Air Force Two." If neither the president nor the vice-president is on board, it then is known by its SAM (Special Air Missions) number. On 9 August 1974, shortly after Secretary of State Henry Kissinger read President Nixon's formal letter of resignation, air traffic control in Kansas received the following message: "Kansas City this is former Air Force One, please change our call sign to SAM26000." Mr. Nixon, the passenger, was no longer president and the aircraft in mid-flight ceased being "Air Force One." No doubt when the jet carried Mr. Reagan's body and entourage it also eschewed the "Air Force One" moniker for the SAM number.
Air Force One aircraft are flown by the Presidential Airlift Group and are assigned to Air Mobility Command's 89th Airlift Wing based at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
It was in 1944 that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt called for the creation of the Presidential Pilot Office. This agency was to provide air transportation to the President and his staff. Until 1962 the craft provided were various four-engine propeller-driven aircraft. In 1962 the first jet, a Boeing 707, was purchased for use by our nation's chief executive.
Presidential air transport began in 1944 when a Boeing C-54, dubbed the "Sacred Cow," was put into service for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Modifications needed to be made for President Roosevelt's wheelchair. This plane was used to fly Roosevelt to Yalta-the first time since President Theodore Roosevelt sailed to Panama that the sitting president of the United States left the territorial jurisdiction of the United States.
Harry S Truman
Truman flew a plane dubbed the "Independence," in honor of his home town of Independence, Missouri. This plane was a DC-6 (Liftmaster). It served the presidency from 1947 to 1953. It was painted with feathers, a far cry from the decorum of today's presidential craft.
The election of 1948 was anticipated to be a lock for Republican Thomas Dewey. The Air Force had ordered a new airplane for the presumptive winner and dubbed this plane the "Dewdrop." Efforts to get President Truman to use this aircraft after the election were fruitless. The "Independence" kept flying while the "Dewdrop" served in a lesser role until it was sold.
The notion of air flight was still new to the public and the press. The "Independence" took off for a flight to Missouri before the press plane did. The press plane was held back by bad weather, upon which the press assailed Truman for flying in such treacherous conditions. Truman was unaware of the storm; his plane flew above any inclement weather.
Dwight David Eisenhower
President Dwight D. Eisenhower traveled aboard the "Columbine II" and "Columbine III" from 1953 to 1961. These were Lockheed Constellations. The term "Columbine" was chosen because it is the state flower of Mamie's home state.
The call sign "Air Force One" was established for security purposes during the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration. It seems a commercial flight with the same call sign as a flight the President was on coincidentally entered the same airspace.
John F. Kennedy
In 1962 delivery was taken on a Boeing 707 for presidential use. Bearing tail number 26000, this first jet would be the same jet that took Kennedy to Dallas on that fateful trip-and returned with Johnson as president and bearing the body of the slain president.
Mrs. Kennedy sought a dignified aircraft for the office of president and enlisted Raymond Loewy to design the aircraft. The outside markings have remained virtually unchanged. The inside layout for the jet necessitated changes. With the piston engines, the back of the plane was usually quieter and the president sought to be there in flight. But with quieter jet engines, the president moved to the front while the press was bumped to the back.
Lyndon Johnson
Lyndon Johnson made history by being the only chief executive sworn into office aboard Air Force One while it was still at Love Field in Dallas. The same jet that saw Johnson sworn in would also carry Johnson back to Texas after his state funeral in Washington, D. C.
Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon rode on Air Force One as the first president to visit China and the Soviet Union (now Russia). At his resignation, the designation of the jet changed in mid-flight from "Air Force One" to SAM26000 (SAM two six-thousand).
Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter
There were no historical footnotes for these two presidents aboard or involving Air Force One. President Ford was unduly harassed by some bad falls on the steps coming out of aircraft. Ford once mentioned that once the crew of Air Force One learned of his fondness for strawberries, there were strawberries on every flight he took.
Ronald Reagan allowed Jimmy Carter to use Air Force One to meet the released hostages in Germany after their release from Iran.
Ronald Reagan
President Reagan ordered the current 747 jets now in use. While he never flew in them as president, his body was carried aboard one for the state funeral in Washington, D.C., and back again to California.
Reagan was known to keep a jar full of jelly beans on Air Force One.
George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush was the first to fly in the new 747 Air Force One. He was famous for saying he didn't like brocolli and wouldn't eat it. He doesn't know if brocolli was ever served on Air Force One during his presidency, but he never smelled it.
Bill Clinton
President Clinton was the first president to visit Vietnam.
George W. Bush
Air Force One becomes a "bunker" for the presidency during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Afterwards, the jets were upgraded with security features.
Where are they now?
The propeller planes used by Roosevelt, Truman, and Eisenhower likely were scrapped. Their service, in comparison to the jets used, was brief.
SAM 26000, the first 707, is retired and on display at the U.S. Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.
SAM 27000 will be housed at the Ronald W. Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. The exhibit is slated to be open in 2005.
SAM 28000 and SAM 29000 are the current 747's used to carry the president and staff.
Other Details
The principal differences between Air Force One and the standard Boeing 747 (other than the number of passengers carried) are:
* the state of the art navigation,
* electronic and communications equipment,
* its interior configuration and furnishings,
* self-contained baggage loader,
* front and aft air-stairs, and
* the capability for in-flight refueling.
Accommodations for the president include an executive suite consisting of a stateroom (with dressing room, lavatory and shower) and the president's office. A conference/dining room is also available for the president, his family and staff. Other separate accommodations are provided for guests, senior staff, Secret Service and security personnel, and the news media.
Two galleys provide up to 100 meals at one sitting. Six passenger lavatories, including disabled access facilities, are provided as well as a rest area and mini-galley for the aircrew. Air Force One also has a compartment outfitted with medical equipment and supplies for minor medical emergencies.
Boeing's site on Air Force One.
How Air Force one works.
History Channel has a DVD on the history of Air Force One, should you miss the airing on the History Channel. (I first saw the program when Reagan died, but it has aired recently with the expose on the Secret Service.)
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