- This article is about the aircraft. For the movie, see Air Force One (movie).
Air Force One is the airline call sign of any U.S. Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States. Since 1990, the presidential fleet has consisted of two specifically-configured, highly customized Boeing 747-200B series aircraft—tail numbers 28000 and 29000—with Air Force designation VC-25A. These planes are maintained by the U.S. Air Force almost solely for presidential air transport. Before these planes entered service, two Boeing 707-320B-type aircraft — tail numbers 26000 and 27000 — had operated as Air Force One starting in 1962. The Secret Service refers to Air Force One by the codename Angel.
| Name |
Air Force One |
| Primary function |
Presidential air transport |
| Contractor |
Boeing |
| Power plant |
Four General Electric CF6-80C2B1 jet engines |
| Thrust |
56,700lb per engine |
| Length |
231ft, 10in (70.7 m) |
| Height |
63ft, 5in (19.3m) |
| Wingspan |
195ft, 8in (59.6m) |
| Speed |
630 mph (Mach 0.92) |
| Ceiling |
45,100ft (13,746m) |
| Maximum Takeoff Weight |
833,000lb (374,850km) |
| Range |
7,800 statute miles (6,800 nautical miles/12,550km) |
| Crew |
26 |
| Total capacity |
102 |
| Introduction |
December 8, 1990 (No. 28000) December 23, 1990 (No. 29000) |
| Deployment |
September 6, 1990 (No. 28000) March 26, 1991 (No. 29000) |
| Inventory |
2 |
The VC-25A is capable of flying 7,800 miles—halfway around the world—without refueling and can accommodate more than 70 passengers.
Operation
These aircraft are maintained and operated as military operations by the Presidential Airlift Group, part of Air Mobility Command's 89th Airlift Wing, based at Andrews Air Force Base in Suitland, Maryland. The President often flies a U.S. Marine Corps helicopter, callsign Marine One, between the Andrews AFB and the White House. Similarly, an U.S. Army aircraft carrying the President has the callsign Army One; U.S. Navy aircraft are called Navy One. A civilian plane carrying the President has the callsign Executive One, and a plane carrying a member of the first family will be called Executive One Foxtrot.
Capability and features
The planes known as Air Force One differ from standard Boeing 747 in size, features, and security precautions. Air Force One's interior has been reconfigured for presidential duties, and includes office areas with access to photocopying, printing, and word processing, as well as telecommunication systems, telephones and television sets. There is also secure and non-secure voice, fax and data communications,
Onboard Air Force One are medical facilities, including an operating table and pharmacy. Separate sleeping quarters for guests, senior staff, Secret Service and security personnel, and the news media; the president's executive suite includes a private dressing room, lavatory and shower. The plane can also be operated as a military command center in the event of an incident such as a nuclear attack. Operational modifications include aerial refueling capability and anti-aircraft missile countermeasures.
History
The call signs were established for security purposes during the administration of Dwight D. Eisenhower, after a commercial flight with the same callsign as a flight the President was accidentially entered the same airspace. In 1974, when Richard M. Nixon resigned the presidency and departed from Andrews AFB on Air Force One, it was arranged that the plane's call sign would switch from Air Force One to its SAM designation the moment Gerald Ford took the oath of office.
From its inception Air Force One has become a symbol of Presidential power and prestige, carrying the president on several diplomatic missions. It has also played a role in history. On November 22, 1963, SAM 26000 carried President John F. Kennedy to Dallas, Texas where he was assassinated. It was on the plane that Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson took the oath of office, and the plane carried Kennedy's remains back to Washington. SAM 26000 also carried president Nixon on his historic trip to mainland China in 1972. The following year, it played a major role in the state funeral of former president Johnson when it brought his body to Washington from Texas for his funeral and back to Texas for his burial. As he was being laid to rest, turning over the flag to Mrs. Johnson was a former pilot of SAM 26000. In 2004, President George W. Bush lent a VC-25 to the family of the late President Ronald Reagan to transport his casket to his funeral and back to California for his burial. In November 2003, there was a minor controversy when Air Force One's crew lied to British Air Traffic Control operators, informing them that the 150-ton 747 was an 85,000-pound Gulfstream V corporate jet, while transporting President Bush to Iraq to spend Thanksgiving with troops stationed there.
Aircraft which have formerly served as "Air Force One" are on display in the Presidential Hangar of the US Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB, near Dayton, Ohio and the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington.
External links
- How Air Force One Works
- Boeing site for AF1
- Radio communication of the Air Force One monitored by the Frequency Monitor Centre (in Dutch)
- US Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB
- Museum of Flight
| Modern USAF Series | Miscellaneous |
| Attack--OA/A-10,AC-130H/U | RC-135V/RC-135W Rivet Joint |
| Bomber--B-52,-2,-1B,F-117A | OC-135B Open Skies |
| Fighter--F-15/E ,F-16 | KC-10 Extender |
| Electronic--E-3,-4B,-8C EC-130E/J,H | KC-135 Stratotanker |
| Transport--C-5,-17,-141B, -20,-21 | MC-130E/H HC-130P/N |
| C-22B, -32, -130, -37A, -40B/C | MC-130P Combat Shadow |
| Trainers--T-1, -37, -38, -43, -6 | MH-53J/M Pave Low |
| Weather--WC-130, -135 | HH-60G Pave Hawk |
| UAV--RQ-1/MQ-1 UAV, Global Hawk | UH-1N Huey |
| U-2S/TU-2S | |
| VC-25 - Air Force One |