A Brief History of Air Force One

The Flying White House

May 25, 2009

Known as "Air Force One," "The Flying White House," and "The Flying Oval Office," this plane is recognizable worldwide, and has had a front row seat in history.

The aviation call sign “Air Force One” is used for any plane when the president is onboard. As soon as the president steps onto the plane it is instantly referred to by this famous call sign.

The Early Planes

In the beginning of presidential flight, President Franklin Roosevelt used a C-87A Liberator Express, called “Guess Where Two,” then he switched to a C-54 Skymaster nicknamed the “Sacred Cow,” which was more easily accessible for his wheelchair.

The next plane was a Douglas DC-6 which was nicknamed “The Independence,” by President Truman. President Eisenhower’s C-121A, named the “The Columbine II,” was the first plane to use the call sign “Air Force One” in 1952. Many other aircraft have also been utilized for presidential flights.

President Eisenhower added two Lockheed C-121 Constellation propeller aircraft to the fleet. His wife named them Columbine II and Columbine III.

707s and the New Paint Design

In 1959, Boeing 707 jet aircrafts were purchased and modified for presidential use. In 1962 President Kennedy instructed the words “United States of America” be painted in large letters on the sides of the planes and the flag on the tail and commissioned industrial designer Raymond Loewy to design the exterior paint job. The presidential seal was put on both sides of the nose. This basic design with the blue and white coloring is still used today.

Air Force One Tail Number 26000

The most famous presidential aircraft is the 707 tail number 26000, the plane that brought John Kennedy to Dallas on November 22, 1963 and returned his body to Washington later that day. President Lyndon Johnson was sworn into office inside the plane surrounded by grief stricken aides and Jacqueline Kennedy in her famous blood stained pink suit.

26000 was also the plane that transported Richard Nixon to China and the former Soviet Union in 1972. Number 26000 was retired in 1998 and is on display in Ohio at the U.S. Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

Air Force One Tail Number 27000

In October 1981, the other 707 in the Presidential fleet, tail number 27000 transported Presidents Carter, Ford and Nixon to Egypt for the funeral of Anwar Sadat. 27000 is now on display at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.

747s Become the New Flying White House

In 1990, modified Boeing 747s replaced the 707 aircrafts, which had served Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, and George Bush. The two 747s have tail numbers 28000 and 29000. Number 29000 transported Presidents Clinton, George Bush and Carter to Israel for the funeral of Yitzak Rabin.

Presidential aircraft have had front row seats to history. But what about the planes themselves? The current airplane has a capacity to carry about 100 people, unlike passenger 747s, of which some versions can carry over five hundred. Almost 238 miles of shielded wiring runs through the plane, which is more than twice that of a passenger 747. The wiring is protected from electromagnetic pulses. There are over 80 telephones on board, as well as radios for air-to-ground, air-to-air, and satellite communications.

There is 4000 square feet of cabin space with two galleys. The executive suite consists of the president’s office, dressing room, bathroom with shower, and stateroom. There is also a conference/dining room.

The aircraft has the capacity to be refueled in the air, allowing it to stay aloft for an unlimited time. In order to fly Air Force One, the pilot has to have a spotless record of over 2000 hours in the cockpit with worldwide flight experience. The Secret Service code name for the plane is “Angel.”

The Plane and the Movies

The airplane inspired the 1997 Columbia/Tristar fictional film, Air Force One starring Harrison Ford, and the historical film narrated by Charleton Heston in 1986, Air Force One Flight 2: The Planes and the Presidents. National Geographic also has a documentary titled Air Force One, which takes the viewer inside the airplane for a personal tour.

The “Flying White House” is a silent witness to history. If those walls could talk!

The copyright of the article A Brief History of Air Force One in Modern US History is owned by Francine Brokaw. Permission to republish A Brief History of Air Force One in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.