Content deleted Content added
→20th century: rework grafs |
m double period not needed, other formatting |
||
Line 13:
Other aircraft designated as Air Force One have included another Lockheed Constellation, ''Columbine III;'' three [[Boeing 707]]s, introduced in the 1960s and 1970s; and the current [[Boeing VC-25|Boeing VC-25As]]. Since 1990, the presidential fleet has consisted of two highly customized [[Boeing 747-200#747-200|Boeing 747-200B]] (VC-25A) aircraft.<ref name=preptjb/> The USAF has ordered two [[Boeing 747-8]]s to serve as the next presidential aircraft, designated VC-25Bs and expected to enter service no earlier than 2026.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Weisgerber |first=Marcus |date=2022-04-27 |title=CEO: Boeing Should Have Rejected Trump’s Air Force One Deal |url=https://www.defenseone.com/business/2022/04/ceo-boeing-should-have-rejected-trumps-air-force-one-deal/366186/ |access-date=2024-10-26 |website=Defense One |language=en}}</ref>
From time to time, presidents have invited other world leaders to travel with them on Air Force One. In 1973, Nixon invited [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Soviet general secretary]] [[Leonid Brezhnev]] to fly with him to California from Washington, D.C
==History==
Line 26:
[[File:Columbine II Undergoing Restoration.jpg|thumb|The VC-121 ''Columbine II'', shown here while undergoing restoration in 2016, used by President [[Dwight Eisenhower]]]]
[[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] was the first president to fly in an aircraft while in office. The first aircraft obtained specifically for presidential travel was a [[Douglas Dolphin]] [[Amphibious aircraft|amphibian]] modified with luxury upholstery for four passengers and a small separate sleeping compartment. Designated RD-2 by the US Navy, it was delivered in 1933 and based at the [[Naval Support Facility Anacostia|naval base at Anacostia]] in Washington, D.C.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=May 1933 |title=Mayflower of the Air Ready For President |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J-IDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA713 |magazine=[[Popular Mechanics]] |publisher=Hearst Magazines |page=713}}</ref> The aircraft remained in service as a presidential transport from 1939.<ref>Donald 1997, p. 364.</ref>
During World War II, German submarines [[Battle of the Atlantic|operating in the Atlantic Ocean]] made air travel the preferred method of VIP transatlantic transportation. In 1943, Roosevelt traveled to the [[Casablanca Conference (1943)|Casablanca Conference]] in Morocco on the ''Dixie Clipper'', a Pan Am-crewed [[Boeing 314]] [[flying boat]], on a flight that covered 5,500 miles (8,890 km) in three legs.<ref>{{harvnb|Hardesty|2003|p=38}}</ref> <ref>{{harvnb|Hardesty|2003|p=39}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.whitehousehistory.org/the-wings-of-franklin-roosevelt-1|title = The Wings of Franklin Roosevelt}}</ref>
Line 42:
====Boeing 707s and entry to jet age====
[[File:707-based_SAM_970.jpeg|thumb|''SAM 970'' in the [[Dwight Eisenhower|Eisenhower]]-era livery]]
Toward the end of Eisenhower's second term, Secretary of State [[John Foster Dulles]] commented that Soviet Premier [[Nikita Khrushchev]] and other senior Soviet officials had begun using the technologically advanced [[Tupolev Tu-114]] aircraft for their travels, and it was no longer dignified for the president to fly in a propeller-driven aircraft. This paved the way for the Air Force's initial procurement of three [[Boeing C-137 Stratoliner|Boeing 707]]-120 (VC-137A) [[jet aircraft]], designated ''SAM (Special Air Missions) 970, 971'' and ''972''.<ref>"First of 3 Jets for President and Top Aides Is Unveiled". ''[[The New York Times]]'', 28 April 1959, p. 3.</ref><ref name="Jet Age Arrives">{{cite web |last1=Stein |first1=Alan |title=Modified Boeing 747 becomes the new Air Force One on August 23, 1990 |url=https://www.historylink.org/file/21244 |website=historylink.org |access-date=29 June 2021}}</ref>
Line 51 ⟶ 52:
[[File:Livery_design_for_Air_Force_One.jpg|thumb|[[Raymond Loewy]]'s initial design proposal]]
[[File:Lyndon B. Johnson taking the oath of office, November 1963.jpg|thumb|Vice President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] is sworn in as President aboard ''SAM 26000'' following [[John F. Kennedy]]'s [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy|assassination]]]]
The new [[Boeing C-137 Stratoliner|VC-137C]] was not yet modified for presidential service when [[John F. Kennedy]] took office in 1961. On the recommendation of his wife, [[Jacqueline Kennedy]], he contacted the French-born American industrial designer [[Raymond Loewy]] for help in designing new livery and interiors for the VC-137C.<ref name=preptjb/><ref name="SAM26000Arrival" /><ref>{{harvnb|terHorst|Albertazzie|1979|pp=200–202}}</ref>
Loewy, who had seen ''SAM 970
Kennedy chose a red-and-gold design from one of Loewy's initial concept sketches, and asked him to render the design all in blue. Loewy also drew inspiration from the first printed copy of the [[United States Declaration of Independence]], suggesting the widely spaced and upper case ''"United States of America"'' legend in [[Caslon]] typeface. He chose to expose the polished aluminum fuselage on the bottom side and used two blues, [[steel blue]] {{Color sample|#3C79B4}} associated with the early republic and the presidency, and a more contemporary water blue {{Color sample|#C9ECF5}} to represent an America both rooted in the past and flying inexorably into the future. The [[Seal of the President of the United States|presidential seal]] was added to both sides of the fuselage near the nose and a large American flag was painted on the tail. Loewy's work won immediate praise from the president and the press. The [[Aircraft livery#Cheatline|cheatline]] suggested a sleek and horizontal image that mirrored America's [[Jet Age]] optimism and prosperity of the era, and today signifies its legacy and tradition.<ref name="CNN Style" /><ref name="MoMAAF1">{{cite web |title=Livery design for Air Force One |url=https://www.moma.org/collection/works/196025 |website=moma.org |access-date=28 June 2021}}</ref><ref name="Color Scheme">{{cite web |last1=Naidu |first1=Keshav |title=Air Force One Color Scheme |url=https://www.schemecolor.com/air-force-one.php |website=schemecolor.com |access-date=29 June 2021}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Hardesty|2003|page=70}}</ref>
Line 62 ⟶ 64:
{{main|VC-137C SAM 26000}}
[[File:VC-137-1 Air Force One.jpg|thumb|''[[SAM 26000]]'' used for President [[John F. Kennedy|Kennedy]] through [[Bill Clinton|Clinton]], shown in AF2 livery]]
Under [[John F. Kennedy]], presidential air travel entered the jet age.<ref>{{harvnb|Walsh|2003|page=60.}}</ref> Although he could use the Eisenhower-era jets for trips to Canada, France, [[Austria]], and the United Kingdom, when he came into office, his primary aircraft domestically was still a prop powered [[Douglas DC-6#Surviving aircraft|Douglas VC-118A Liftmaster]].<ref>{{harvnb|terHorst|Albertazzie|1979||pages=198–200}}</ref> In October 1962, the modified long-range Boeing VC-137C Stratoliner [[VC-137C SAM 26000|''SAM 26000'']], featuring livery designed by Loewy would be delivered, and immediately became an important element of the Kennedy administration's brand.<ref name="SAM26000Arrival">{{harvnb|Walsh|2003|page=63}}</ref>
Line 73 ⟶ 76:
{{main|VC-137C SAM 27000}}
[[File:Air Force One SAM 27000.jpg|thumb|''[[SAM 27000]]'' served Presidents [[Richard Nixon|Nixon]] to [[George W. Bush]].]]
SAM 26000 was replaced in December 1972 by another VC-137C, ''[[SAM 27000|Special Air Mission 27000]]'', although SAM 26000 was relegated to non-presidential VIP status (and repainted without the darker blue cap and cheatline), it served as a backup to ''SAM 27000'' until it was finally retired in 1998.<ref name="Retirement">{{Cite news |last=Thomma |first=Steve |date=20 May 1998 |title=Presidential Plane Heads for History; This Air Force One Served Every President Since Kennedy. A Museum is Next |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |page=A14}}</ref>
Line 82 ⟶ 86:
{{main|Boeing VC-25}}
[[File:The two Boeing VC-25A Air Force One.jpg|thumb|SAM 28000 sits on the ramp as SAM 29000 descends on final approach to [[Hickam Field]] with President [[George W. Bush]]]]
Though [[Ronald Reagan]]'s two terms as president saw no major changes to Air Force One, the manufacture of the presidential aircraft version of the [[Boeing 747|747]] began during his presidency. The USAF issued a [[Request For Proposal]] in 1985 for two wide-body aircraft with a minimum of three engines and an unrefueled range of 6,000 miles (9,700 km). Boeing with the 747 and McDonnell Douglas with the [[McDonnell Douglas DC-10|DC-10]] submitted proposals, and the [[Reagan Administration]] ordered two identical 747s to replace the aging 707 VC-137 variants he used.<ref name=preptjb/><ref name="747-dod">Williams, Rudi. [https://web.archive.org/web/20070414073138/http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=26295 "Reagan Makes First, Last Flight in Jet He Ordered"]. United States Department of Defense, 10 June 2004. Retrieved: 23 June 2009.</ref> The interior designs, drawn up by First Lady [[Nancy Reagan]], were reminiscent of the [[American Southwest]].<ref name="747-dod" />
Line 103 ⟶ 108:
The support aircraft will often use several airports in a region to minimize the impact to one particular airport, and Secret Service may also preposition a Gulfstream [[C-37B]] or [[Boeing E-4]] in a neighboring region for backup.<ref name="Fleet">{{cite news |last1=Weisgerber |first1=Marcus |title=The secret history of the Air Force One shadow fleet |url=https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2024/01/secret-history-air-force-one-shadow-fleet/393372/ |work=Defense One |date=17 January 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Graff|first1=Garrett |title=The President’s Secret Air Force |url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/05/02/the-presidents-secret-air-force-215091/ |work=Politico |date=2 May 2017}}</ref>
In addition to the President, staff, and flight crew, a VC-25A can carry 102 guests in typical domestic business-class [[Airline seat|seats]]. The back-up VC-25 typically flies with 14 crew, two pilots, six flight crew, two cooks, and four flight attendants. When transporting the President, the primary VC-25A has three cooks and 15 flight attendants, 20 or more Secret Service agents, and some 40 members of the presidential [[press pool]]. During international state visits, another aircraft may be chartered to accommodate another 150 or more journalists and security personnel.<ref>{{harvnb|Hardesty|2003|pages=156–157.}}</ref>
====11 September attacks====
Line 122 ⟶ 127:
The VC-25As are to be replaced as the cost of maintaining the aging systems on their 30-year-old airframes and less efficient GE-CF6 engines has begun to surpass the cost of acquiring a new aircraft.<ref>Trimble, Stephen. [https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/exclusive-us-considers-airbus-a380-as-air-force-one-and-potentially-a-c-5-replacement-218681/ "US considers Airbus A380 as Air Force One and potentially a C-5 replacement"]. ''[[FlightGlobal]]'', 17 October 2007. Retrieved: 6 December 2016.</ref> On 28 January 2015, the Air Force announced that the [[Boeing 747-8]] would be the next presidential aircraft.<ref>[http://www.af.mil/News/ArticleDisplay/tabid/223/Article/562748/af-identifies-boeing-747-8-platform-for-next-air-force-one.aspx "AF Identifies Boeing 747-8 platform for next Air Force One"]. ''United States Air Force'', 28 January 2015. Retrieved: 28 January 2015.</ref><ref>Capaccio. Anthony. [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-01-28/boeing-to-build-air-force-one-replacement-with-bids-for-systems "Boeing to build Air Force One replacement with bids for systems"]. ''Bloomberg News'', 28 January 2015. Retrieved: 25 April 2015.</ref> <!-- This is supposed to be a summary. Keep replacement details at [[Boeing VC-25]]. --> On 6 December 2016, President-elect [[Donald Trump]] [[Twitter|tweeted]] his opposition to the Air Force One replacement because of its high cost, "more than $4 billion". The US [[Government Accountability Office]] estimated the total cost at $3.2 billion, and the US Air Force's budget for the program is projected to be nearly $4 billion. In December 2016, Boeing was on contract for preliminary development worth $170 million (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=170000000|start_year=2016}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}).<ref name="bbc-20161207">{{Cite news |date=7 December 2016 |title=Trump says Air Force One Boeing order should be cancelled |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38221579 |access-date=11 December 2016}}</ref><ref name="ft-20161207">{{Cite news |last=Mark Odell |date=7 December 2016 |title=Trump speaks to Boeing chief on Air Force One replacement costs |work=[[Financial Times]] |url=https://www.ft.com/content/f3cd8ad2-bcaa-11e6-8b45-b8b81dd5d080 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/f3cd8ad2-bcaa-11e6-8b45-b8b81dd5d080 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=11 December 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Mehta, Aaron |date=6 December 2016 |title=Trump Tweets US Should Cancel Air Force One Replacement |work=Defense News |url=http://www.defensenews.com/articles/trump-tweets-us-should-cancel-air-force-one-replacement |access-date=11 December 2016}}</ref>
On 1 August 2017, ''[[Defense One]]'' reported that, in an effort to pay less for the replacement program, the US Air Force contracted to purchase two of the bankrupt Russian airline [[Transaero]]'s undelivered 747-8 Intercontinentals from Boeing, which was storing them in the [[Mojave Desert]] to prevent corrosion. These airplanes, which were completed in 2013,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Insinna |first=Valerie |date=1 August 2017 |title=Boeing to turn undelivered 747s meant for Russian customer into new Air Force Ones |url=https://www.defensenews.com/air/2017/08/01/boeing-to-turn-undelivered-747s-meant-for-russian-customer-into-new-air-force-ones/ |access-date=20 December 2023 |website=Defense News |language=en}}</ref> would be retrofitted with all essential equipment to serve as the next presidential aircraft, albeit without certain capabilities such as [[aerial refueling]].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=WEISGERBER
===Supersonic aircraft===
Line 158 ⟶ 163:
[[File:President George W. Bush, Mrs. Laura Bush and Nancy Reagan.jpg|thumb|President [[George W. Bush]], First Lady [[Laura Bush]], and former first lady [[Nancy Reagan]] toured ''[[VC-137C SAM 27000|SAM 27000]]'', housed at the [[Ronald Reagan Presidential Library]] in October 2005]]
A [[Lockheed JetStar]] used by [[Lyndon Johnson]] during his presidency is on display at the LBJ Ranch (now the [[Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park]]) in [[Stonewall, Texas]]. The ranch's runway was too small to accommodate the Boeing 707, so President Johnson would fly it to [[Bergstrom AFB]] in [[Austin, Texas|Austin]], then transfer to the smaller JetStar for the short flight to the ranch.<ref>[http://www.aviationmuseum.eu/World/North_America/USA/Texas/Johnson_City/Lyndon_B._Johnson_Nat._Historical_Park.htm "Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park"]. ''Aviation Museums''. Retrieved: 7 July 2012.</ref> Another JetStar used during the Johnson presidency is on display at the [[Hill Aerospace Museum]] which uncovered presidential markings on the plane while stripping the paint for restoration.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.aerospaceutah.org/museum/our-collections/aircraft-collection/c-140b-jetstar/#:~:text=What%20is%20the%20C%2D140,as%20%E2%80%9CAir%20Force%20One.%E2%80%9D |title=Lockheed C-140B JetStar |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated-->
A [[McDonnell Douglas C-9|McDonnell Douglas VC-9C]] used by [[Ronald Reagan]] and [[Bill Clinton]] is on display at [[Castle Air Museum]] in [[Atwater, California]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Douglas VC-9C {{!}} Castle Air Museum, Atwater & Merced |url=http://www.castleairmuseum.org/douglasvc9c/ |access-date=27 January 2017 |publisher=Castle Air Museum}}</ref> next to the former [[Castle Air Force Base]]. Another VC-9C has been at [[Air Mobility Command Museum]] in [[Dover, Delaware]], since 2011.<ref>{{Cite web |title=VC-9C |url=https://amcmuseum.org/at-the-museum/aircraft/vc-9c/ |access-date=20 October 2019 |website=[[Air Mobility Command Museum]]}}</ref>
Line 174 ⟶ 179:
{{main|Aircraft in fiction#Boeing 747}}
A fictionalized version of Air Force One is depicted in the 1997 feature film ''[[Air Force One (film)|Air Force One]]''. The cabin was built to scale and is as accurate as the production designers could possibly make it.
==See also==
|