Overview
From Presidents Roosevelt to Obama, Boeing airplanes have transported U.S. presidents around the world. The U.S. Air Force announced that it will continue the Boeing tradition with the 747-8, which will replace the two 747-200s that serve as the presidential Air Force One fleet.
When the 747-8 takes flight as the next Air Force One, Boeing airplanes will mark more than half a century of presidential service through the Jet Age.
Visit our gallery to see more historical photos of U.S. presidential aircraft.
Capabilities and Features - Current
Presidential Airplane (Boeing 747-200)
- · Longer range for presidential travel
- · Aerial refueling
- · Self-sufficiency at airports around the world
The "flying
Oval Office" has 4,000 square feet of interior floor space. Among its
accommodations are:
- · Conference/dining room
- · Quarters for the president and the first lady
- · An office area for senior staff members
- · Another office that converts into a medical facility when necessary
- · Work and rest areas for the presidential staff, media representatives and Air Force crews
- · Two galleys that can provide 100 meals at one sitting
- · Multi-frequency radios for air-to-air, air-to-ground and satellite communications
- · Principal differences between Air Force One and the standard Boeing 747 include state-of-the-art navigation, electronic and communications equipment; its interior configuration and furnishings; self-contained baggage loader; and front and aft air-stairs.
Technical Specifications - Current
Presidential Airplane (Boeing 747-200)
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Crew
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26 (passenger/crew capacity: 102)
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Model
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747-200B
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Engines
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General Electric CF6-80C2B1
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Thrust rating
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56,700 pounds, each engine (252 kn)
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Long-range mission takeoff gross weight
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833,000 pounds (377,842 kg)
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Maximum zero fuel weight
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526,500 pounds (238,800 kg)
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Design mission zero fuel weight
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46,000 pounds (20,865 kg)
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Maximum landing weight
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630,000 pounds (285,763 kg)
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Fuel capacity
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53,611 gallons (203,129 L)
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Range
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7,800 statute miles
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Wing span
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195 feet, 8 inches (59.64 m)
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Length
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231 feet, 10 inches (70.66 m)
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Height
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63 feet, 5 inches (19.33 m)
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Service ceiling
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45,100 feet (13.747 m)
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Air Force One is the official air traffic control call sign of a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States. In common parlance the term refers to those Air Force aircraft specifically designed, built, and used for the purpose of transporting the president. The presidential aircraft is a prominent symbol of the American presidency and its power.
The idea of designating specific military aircraft to transport the President arose in 1943, when officials of the United States Army Air Forces, the predecessor to the U.S. Air Force, became concerned with relying on commercial airlines to transport the president. A C-87 Liberator Express was reconfigured for use as a presidential transport; however, it was rejected by the Secret Service amid concerns over the aircraft's safety record. A C-54 Skymaster was then converted for presidential use; this aircraft, dubbed the Sacred Cow, transported President Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Yalta Conference in February 1945, and was subsequently used for another two years by President Harry S. Truman.
The "Air Force One" call sign was created after a 1953 incident during which a Lockheed Constellation named Columbine II carrying President Dwight D. Eisenhower entered the same airspace as a commercial airline flight using the same call sign.
A number of aircraft types have been used as Air Force One since the creation of the presidential fleet, starting with two Lockheed Constellations in the late 1950s: Columbine II and Columbine III. It also has included two Boeing 707s introduced in the 1960s and 1970s, respectively; since 1990, the presidential fleet has consisted of two Boeing VC-25As, which are specifically configured, highly customized Boeing 747-200B series aircraft. The Air Force plans to procure the Boeing 747-8 to be the next version of Air Force One.
On 11 October 1910, Theodore Roosevelt became the first U.S. president to fly in an aircraft, an early Wright Flyer from Kinloch Field near St. Louis, Missouri. However, he was no longer in office at the time, having been succeeded by William Howard Taft. The record-making occasion was a brief overflight of the crowd at a county fair but was nonetheless the beginning of presidential air travel.
Prior to World War II, overseas and cross-country presidential travel was rare. The lack of wireless telecommunication and available modes of transportation made long-distance travel impractical, as it took much time and isolated the president from events in Washington, D.C. Railroads were a safer and more reliable option if the president needed to travel to distant states. By the late 1930s, with the arrival of aircraft such as the Douglas DC-3, increasing numbers of the U.S. public saw passenger air travel as a reasonable mode of transportation. All-metal aircraft, more reliable engines, and new radio aids to navigation had made commercial airline travel safer and more convenient. Life insurance companies even began to offer airline pilots insurance policies, albeit at extravagant rates, and many commercial travelers and government officials began using the airlines in preference to rail travel, especially for longer trips.
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 amphibian delivered in 1933 which was designated RD-2 by the US Navy and based at the Naval base at Anacostia D.C. The Dolphin was modified with luxury upholstery for four passengers and a small separate sleeping compartment. The aircraft remained in service as a presidential transport from 1933 until 1939. There are no reports, however, on whether the president actually flew in the aircraft. During World War II, Roosevelt traveled on the Dixie Clipper, a Pan Am-crewed Boeing 314 flying boat to the 1943 Casablanca Conference in Morocco, a flight that covered 5,500 miles (in three legs). The threat from the German submarines throughout the Battle of the Atlantic made air travel the preferred method of VIP transatlantic transportation.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt's C-54 Skymaster aircraft, nicknamed "the Sacred Cow".
Concerned about relying upon commercial airlines to transport the president, USAAF leaders ordered the conversion of a military aircraft to accommodate the special needs of the Commander-in-Chief. The first dedicated aircraft proposed for presidential use was a C-87A VIP transport aircraft. This aircraft, number 41-24159, was re-modified in 1943 for use as a presidential VIP transport, the Guess Where II, intended to carry President Franklin D. Roosevelt on international trips. Had it been accepted, it would have been the first aircraft to be used in presidential service, in effect the first Air Force One. However, after a review of the C-87's highly controversial safety record in service, the Secret Service flatly refused to approve the Guess Where II for presidential carriage. As the C-87 was a derivative of the Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber, it presented strong offensive impressions to enemy fighter aircraft as well as foreign destinations visited, an issue not present with airframes that were used purely for transport. The Guess Where II was used to transport senior members of the Roosevelt administration on various trips. In March 1944, it transported Eleanor Roosevelt on a goodwill tour of several Latin American countries. The C-87 was scrapped in 1945.
The Secret Service subsequently reconfigured a Douglas C-54 Skymaster for presidential transport duty. The VC-54C aircraft, nicknamed the Sacred Cow, included a sleeping area, radio telephone, and retractable elevator to lift Roosevelt in his wheelchair. As modified, the VC-54C was used by President Roosevelt only once before his death, on his trip to the Yalta Conference in February 1945.
The VC-118 Independence used primarily by President Truman
After Roosevelt's death in April 1945, Vice President Harry S. Truman became president. The legislation that created the U.S. Air Force, the National Security Act of 1947, was signed by Truman while on board the VC-54C. He replaced the VC-54C in 1947 with a modified C-118 Liftmaster, calling it the Independence (the name of Truman's Missouri hometown). This was the first aircraft acting as Air Force One that had a distinctive exterior—a bald eagle head painted on its nose.
The presidential call sign was established for security purposes during the administration of Dwight D. Eisenhower. The change stemmed from a 1953 incident where an Eastern Airlines commercial flight (8610) had the same call sign as the flight the president was on (Air Force 8610). The airliner accidentally entered the same airspace, and after the incident, the unique presidential aircraft call sign "Air Force One" was introduced. The first official flight of Air Force One was in 1959, during the Eisenhower administration.
The VC-121 Columbine III used by President Eisenhower
Eisenhower introduced four propeller driven aircraft to presidential service. This group included two Lockheed C-121 Constellations, the aircraft Columbine II (VC-121A 48-610, currently undergoing restoration after being stored at Marana Regional Airport in Arizona)—the only primary presidential airplane ever sold—and Columbine III (VC-121E 53-7885, transferred to the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in 1966 and placed on display). They were named by First Lady Mamie Eisenhower after the columbine, the official state flower of her adopted home state of Colorado. Two Aero Commanders were added to the fleet and earned the distinction of being the smallest aircraft ever to serve as Air Force One. President Eisenhower also upgraded Air Force One's technology by adding an air-to-ground telephone and an air-to-ground teletype machine.
Future replacement
The VC-25As are expected to be replaced, as they have become less cost-effective to operate. The USAF Air Mobility Command has been charged with looking into possible replacements, including the new Boeing 747-8 and the Airbus A380. On 7 January 2009, the Air Force Materiel Command, as part of its Presidential Aircraft Recapitalization Program (PAR), posted a notice to survey and identify potential suppliers of the next generation of Presidential airplane to begin service in 2017. By 28 January 2009, the deadline for responding to the survey notice, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) announced that it would not participate in the program leaving Boeing the sole possible provider with either its Boeing 747-8 or Boeing 787 Dreamliner being proposed. On 28 January 2015, the Air Force announced that the Boeing 747-8 will serve as the next presidential aircraft.
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