Air Force One is a sign of an official air traffic control call for United States Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States. In colloquial terms the term describes Air Force planes designed, built, and used to transport the president. The presidential plane is a prominent symbol of the American presidency and its power.
The idea of ​​appointing a special military aircraft to transport the President emerged in 1943, when Air Force officials of the United States Air Force, the predecessor of the US Air Force, became concerned over dependence on commercial flights to transport the president. C-87 Liberator Express has been reconfigured for use as a presidential transport, but the Secret Service rejected it because of its security record. Skymaster C-54 was later converted for the use of the presidency; The plane, dubbed Holy Cow , took President Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Yalta Conference in February 1945 and then used for two years by President Harry S. Truman.
The "Air Force One" call sign was made after the 1953 incident when the Lockheed Constellation was named Columbine II, carrying President Dwight D. Eisenhower, entered the same airspace as a commercial airline flight using the same number of flights.
A number of aircraft have been used as Air Force One since the creation of the presidential fleet, starting with two Constellation Lockheeds in the late 1950s: Columbine II and Columbine III. It also operates two Boeing 707s, introduced in the 1960s and 1970s; since 1990, the presidential fleet has become two Boeing VC-25As, which are specially configured, Boeing 747-200B series aircraft are highly customizable. The Air Force plans to get the Boeing 747-8 for the next Air Force One version.
Video Air Force One
History
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On October 11, 1910, Theodore Roosevelt became the first US president to fly by plane, the earliest Wright Flyer from Kinloch Field near St. Louis. Louis, Missouri. He was no longer in the office at the time, having been replaced by William Howard Taft. The recording was a short meeting of the crowd at a regional exhibition but was still the beginning of a presidential air journey.
Prior to World War II, the journey of foreign and cross-border presidency was rare. The lack of wireless telecommunications and available transportation modes makes long distance travel impractical, as it takes a lot of time and isolates the president from events in Washington, D.C. Railways are a safer and more reliable option if the president needs to travel to distant states. In the late 1930s, with the arrival of aircraft such as Douglas DC-3, an increase in the number of public air passengers saw the US as a reasonable mode of transportation. All-metal aircraft, more reliable engines, and new radio-aid for navigation have made travel for commercial airlines safer and more comfortable. Life insurance companies have even begun offering airline pilot insurance policies, albeit at exceptional rates, and many commercial travelers and government officials are beginning to use airlines in preference for train travel, especially for longer trips.
First presidential plane
Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first president to fly on an airplane while in office. The first aircraft gained exclusively for the presidential journey was an amphibian Douglas Dolphin sent in 1933 designated RD-2 by the US Navy and based at the Naval base in Anacostia DC The Dolphin has been modified with luxurious coatings for four passengers and a bed separate apart. compartment. The aircraft has remained operational as a presidential transport from 1933 to 1939. However, there are no reports of whether the president actually flew on the plane. During World War II, Roosevelt traveled on the Dixie Clipper, a Pan Am Boeing 314 aircraft to the 1943 Casablanca Conference in Morocco, a flight covering 5,500 miles (8,890 km) in three legs. The threat of German submarines throughout the Atlantic Battles made air travel the preferred method of VIP transatlantic transport.
Concerned about relying on commercial airlines to transport presidents, USAAF leaders ordered the conversion of military aircraft to accommodate the special needs of the Supreme Commander. The first special aircraft proposed for presidential use is the VIP C-87A transport aircraft. The aircraft, number 41-24159 , was modified in 1943 for use as a presidential VIP transport, Guess Where II , intended to bring President Franklin D. Roosevelt on an international trip. Once accepted, it will be the first aircraft used in the presidential service, basically the first Air Force One. However, after reviewing the highly controversial C-87 security record in the service, the Secret Service firmly refused to agree to Guess Where II for the presidential train. Because the C-87 is a derivative of the Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers, it gives a strong offensive impression to enemy fighter planes as well as foreign destinations visited, a problem that does not exist on aircraft used purely for transportation. The Guess where II is used to transport the senior members of the Roosevelt government on various trips. In March 1944, he transported Eleanor Roosevelt on a goodwill tour of several Latin American countries. C-87 was canceled in 1945.
The Secret Service then reconfigures the Douglas C-54 Skymaster for the presidential transportation duties. The VC-54C aircraft, dubbed Holy Cow , included sleeping areas, radio telephones and lift lifts to lift Roosevelt in his wheelchair. As amended, VC-54C was used by President Roosevelt only once before his death, en route to the Yalta Conference in February 1945.
Sacred Cow is now on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
The late 1940s and 1950s
After Roosevelt's death in April 1945, Vice President Harry S. Truman became president. The law that created the US Air Force, the National Security Act of 1947, was signed by Truman while on VC-54C. He replaced the VC-54C in 1947 with the modified C-118 Liftmaster, calling it Independence (the name of Truman's hometown in Missouri). This is the first aircraft to act as Air Force One that has a distinctive exterior - a bald eagle head painted on its nose.
The president's call sign is set for security purposes during the administration of Dwight D. Eisenhower. This change comes from the 1953 incident in which commercial airline Eastern Airlines (8610) has the same call sign as the flight made by the president (Air Force 8610). The plane accidentally entered the same airspace, and after the incident, a unique presidential aircraft call sign "Air Force One" was introduced. The first official Air Force One flight was in 1959, during the Eisenhower administration.
Eisenhower introduced four propeller-driven aircraft to the presidential service. This group includes two Lockheed C-121 Constellation, Columbine II aircraft (VC-121A 48-610) - the only primary presidential plane ever sold - and Columbine III (< VC-121E 53-7885). They were named by First Mother Mamie Eisenhower after columbine, the official interest of the state of Colorado state that was adopted. Two Aero Commanders are added to the fleet and get the difference as the smallest aircraft ever used as Air Force One. President Eisenhower also upgraded Air Force One technology by adding telephones from the air to ground and teletype engines from air to surface.
Boeing 707 and enter jet age
Toward the end of Eisenhower's tenure in 1958, the Air Force added three Boeing 707 jets (as VC-137 designated SAM 970, 971, and 972), into the fleet. Eisenhower became the first president to use VC-137 during the "Good to Peace" tour, from December 3 to December 22, 1959. He visited 11 Asian countries, flying 22,000 miles (35,000 km) in 19 days, about twice as fast as he could cover that distance through one of Columbine's . SAM 26000
Under John F. Kennedy, presidential air travels into jet age. He has been using the Eisenhower era jet for trips to Canada, France, Austria, and England. Then in October 1962, the US Air Force purchased the Boeing C-137 Stratoliner, a long-modified Boeing 707 - Special Air Mission (SAM) 26000.
The Air Force has designed a special presidential emblem in red and metallic gold, with the name of the nation in block letters. Kennedy felt the plane looked too grand, and, on the advice of his wife, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, she contacted French-born American industrial designer Raymond Loewy to help design new livery and interiors for the VC-137 jet. Loewy met with the president, and his earliest research on the project took him to the National Archives, where he saw the first printed copy of the United States Declaration of Independence; he saw the country's name is broadly regulated and in large letters in Caslon typefaces. He chose to expose the polished aluminum aircraft on the lower side and use two blues - blue slates associated with the early republic and the presidency and the more contemporary cyan to represent the present and the future. The presidential seal was added to both sides of the fuselage near the nose, a large American flag painted on the tail, and the sides of the plane inscribed "United States" in all capital letters. Loewy won direct praise from the president and the press. The VC-137 mark was adapted for the larger VC-25 upon entering service in 1990.
SAM 26000 worked from 1962 to 1998, serving President Kennedy to Clinton. On 22 November 1963, SAM 26000 brought President Kennedy to Dallas, Texas, where it served as a backdrop when Kennedy welcomed the well-wishers at Dallas's Love Field. Later that afternoon, Kennedy was murdered, and Vice President Lyndon Johnson took over the presidency and took oath of office aboard SAM 26000. At Johnson's request, the plane took Kennedy's body back to Washington. A decade later, SAM 26000 took Johnson's body home to Texas after his state funeral in Washington.
Johnson used SAM 26000 to travel extensively domestically and visit troops in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. SAM 26000 serves President Nixon on several innovative overseas voyages, including his famous visit to the People's Republic of China in February 1972 and a trip to the Soviet Union later that year, both first for an American president. Nixon dubbed the plane "Spirit of '76" in honor of the upcoming second anniversary of the United States; the logo was painted on both sides of the plane's nose.
SAM 26000 is now on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
SAM 27000
SAM 26000 was replaced in December 1972 by another VC-137, Special Air Mission 27000, although SAM 26000 was reserved until it retired in 1998. Richard Nixon was the first president to use SAM 27000; the newer aircraft served each president until it was replaced by two VC-25 (SAM 28000 and 29000) aircraft in 1990.
In June 1974, when President Nixon was on his way to a scheduled stop in Syria, the Syrian fighter jets intercepted Air Force One to act as a bodyguard. However, Air Force One's crew was not notified beforehand and, as a result, took dodging action including diving.
After announcing his intention to resign from the presidency, Nixon boarded the SAM 27000 (with a call to "Air Force One") to travel to California. Colonel Ralph Albertazzie, later Air Force One pilot, said that after Gerald Ford was sworn in as president, the plane had to be redesigned as SAM 27000, which indicated no president was in the plane. More than Jefferson City, Missouri, Albertazzie over the radio: "'Kansas City, this is Air Force One.Are you going to change our call sign to Sierra Alpha Mike (SAM) 27000?' Again comes the reply: 'Roger, Sierra Alpha Mike 27000. Good luck to the President.' "
The last Flight of SAM 27000 as Air Force One was on 29 August 2001 when flying President George W. Bush from San Antonio to Waco, Texas. After the flight, it was officially closed, then flown to San Bernardino International Airport (former Norton AFB) in California. It was dismantled and taken to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, where it was reassembled and permanently displayed.
Boeing 747s
Although Ronald Reagan's two terms as president did not see major changes to Air Force One, the production of a 747 presidential plane version began during his presidency. USAF issued Request for Proposals in 1985 for two wide-bodied aircraft with a minimum of three engines and an unexpanded range of 6,000 miles (9,700 km). Boeing with 747 and McDonnell Douglas with proposals submitted DC-10, and the Reagan Administration ordered two identical 747s to replace the 707 he used. The interior design, composed by First Lady Nancy Reagan, reminds the American Southwest. The first of two aircraft, designated VC-25A, was delivered in 1990, during the reign of George H. W. Bush. The delay is experienced to allow additional work to protect the aircraft from pulse electromagnetic effects (EMP).
The VC-25 is equipped with secure and unsecured telephone and computer communication systems, enabling the president to undertake a temporary air task, in the event of an attack on the US. The presidential air fleet is operated by the 89th Airlift Wing at Andrews Field, Maryland.
The Air Force normally does not have fighter aircraft that escort the presidential plane over the United States but has occurred, for example during an attack on the World Trade Center.
9/11 to present
On September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush was disturbed when he attended an event at Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida, after an attack on the World Tower South Tower in New York City. He flew on VC-25 from Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport with Colonel Mark Tillman, Air Force One's senior pilot of the day, in charge. Air traffic control gives Air Force One an unpleasant warning that a passenger jet plane is close to Air Force One and unresponsive to calls. Tillman recalled: "When we passed through Gainesville, Florida, we got word from the Jacksonville Center that they said, 'Your Air Force One has traffic behind you and basically above you who descend on you, we are not related to them - they have turned off their responder [ sic ]. 'And at that moment, it encouraged us to believe that maybe someone came to us in Sarasota, they saw us take off, they stayed tall and followed us at this point.We do not know what the terrorists are capable of at that point. "
In response to this reported threat, Colonel Tillman said he flew Air Force One to the Gulf of Mexico to test whether another plane would follow. The other jet went on, and Tillman said that it was later explained to him that the plane had lost its transponder and that the pilot in the plane had forgotten to switch to another radio frequency. An airplane transponder broadcasts an electronic identification signal. The threat comes again when Tillman receives a warning message of an imminent attack on Air Force One. "We got word from the vice president and staff that 'Angel is next.' Angels become the sign of secret calls for Air Force One. Once we got into [Mexico] Gulf and they told us that 'Angel next,' at that time I asked for combat support. If the plane is part of the attack. , it would be good to have a fighter on the wing to go ahead and take care of us. "At this point, Tillman said that the plan to fly the president back to Washington, DC was canceled and instead Tillman landed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana and Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, where the president made a speech.Tillman explained that this was due to his fear that threats reported, Air Force One will be attacked when he returns to Andrews Air Force Base.
After the temporary dismissal, the president is returned to Washington. The next day, officials at the White House and the Department of Justice explained that President Bush was doing this because there was "specific and credible information that the White House and Air Force One are also intended targets." The White House was unable to confirm evidence of threats made against Air Force One, and the investigation uncovered the original claim as a result of miscommunication.
The President has invited other world leaders to travel with them at Air Force One at certain times, including Nixon inviting Soviet Prime Minister Leonid Brezhnev to travel with him to California from Washington, DC in June 1973. In 1983, President Reagan and Queen Elizabeth II toured the US. West Coast over Air Force One. In March 2012, President Obama brought British Prime Minister David Cameron to a basketball game in Ohio at Air Force One.
On April 27, 2009, the VC-25 flew low around New York City to do photo and exercise exercises and scared many people in New York. Fallout of the photo op incident led to the resignation of the director of the White House Military Office.
When President Bush came to the end of his second term in 2009, the VC-25 was used to transport him to Texas. For this purpose, the aircraft call sign is the Special Air Mission 28000, because the plane does not carry the current President of the United States. Similar arrangements were made for former Presidents Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama.
In January 2018, media reports stated that the cost of upgrading from two Air Force One refrigerators was $ 23.7 million.
Future replacement
VC-25A is expected to be replaced, as they become less cost-effective to operate. On January 28, 2015, the Air Force announced that the Boeing 747-8 would serve as the next presidential aircraft. On December 6, 2016, the elected President, Donald Trump, tweeted his opposition to the replacement of Air Force One due to the high price of "more than $ 4 billion". The US Government Accountability Office estimates a total cost of $ 3.2 billion, and the US Air Force's budget for the program is projected at nearly $ 4 billion. In December 2016, Boeing was awarded a contract for initial development worth $ 170 million.
On August 1, 2017, Defense One reported that in an effort to pay less for the reimbursement program, the US Air Force has been contracted to buy two of the bankrupt Russian airlines, Transaero 747-8 intercontinental from Boeing, which store it in the Mojave Desert to prevent corrosion. These aircraft, which are tested - flying but never delivered, will be fitted with telecommunications and security equipment to take them to the required level of security for the presidential plane.
Maps Air Force One
Other presidential aircraft
During the Johnson Administration, the United States Air Force acquired the Beechcraft King Air B90 designated VC-6A. The aircraft was used to transport President Johnson between Bergstrom Air Force Base and his family's ranch near Johnson City, Texas, and used at least once to transport the President to Princeton, New Jersey. It was called the Lady Bird plane and later in its service life featured a basic color scheme similar to a civilian plane. When the President is on the plane, the plane uses the Air Force One call sign.
United Airlines is the only commercial airline operating Executive One , a call mark given to civil aviation where the US President is on board. On December 26, 1973, President Richard Nixon and his family flew as commercial passengers at United DC-10 from Washington Dulles to Los Angeles International Airport. His staff explained that this was done to save fuel by not having to fly a regular Boeing 707 Air Force plane.
The President regularly flies by helicopter (a Marine One call sign) operated by the US Marine Corps.
In November 1999, President Bill Clinton flew from Ankara, Turkey, to Cengiz Topel Naval Air Station outside Izmit, Turkey, aboard the C-20C (Gulfstream III) marked using the "Air Force One" call alert, escorted by three F-16.
On March 8, 2000, President Clinton flew to Pakistan on an unmarked Gulfstream III while another plane with the calling sign "Air Force One" flew on the same route a few minutes later. The switch was reported by several US press outlets.
On May 1, 2003, President George W. Bush flew in the co-pilot seat of the Thirty-Five Sea S-3B Viking Marine Squadron VS S-3B from Naval Air Station North Island, California to the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln off the coast of California, where Bush delivered the "Mission Achieved" speech. During flight, the plane uses the "Navy One" call sign for the first time. The aircraft is now on display at the National Naval Aviation Museum at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.
When required by circumstances, the President makes domestic flights using Boeing C-32, sometimes to allow access to smaller airports that can not support the larger VC-25.
Air Force One on screen
Several presidential aircraft previously served as Air Force One ( Holy Cow , Independence , Columbine III , SAM 26000, and other small presidential aircraft) were on display at the hangar of the president of the National Museum of the United States Air Force (located at Wright-Patterson AFB near Dayton, Ohio) and at the Aviation Museum in Seattle, Washington (formerly VC-137B SAM 970). Boeing VC-137C who served as Air Force One of the Nixon years through the George H. W. Bush (SAM 27000) administration was on display in Simi Valley, California at the Ronald Reagan Presidency Library. The Pavilion Air Force One library opened to the public on October 24, 2005.
The Liftmaster VC-118A used by John F. Kennedy is on display at Pima Air & amp; Space Museum is adjacent to Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, Arizona. A Lockheed JetStar used by Lyndon Johnson during his presidency is on display at LBJ Ranch (now Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park) in Stonewall, Texas. This ranch has runways, but is too small to accommodate large aircraft such as Boeing 707. President Johnson will bring a larger Air Force to Bergstrom AFB in Austin, where he will move to smaller JetStar for short flights to the ranch.
A McDonnell Douglas VC-9C used by Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton is on display at the Castle Air Museum in Atwater, California adjacent to the former Castle Air Force Base.
Important appearances in media
Air Force One is shown equipped with a one man escape pod and parachute for emergency use by the President of the United States in at least five films: Escape from New York , Air Force One , White House Down , Bermuda Tentacles , and Big Game . However, the actual Air Force One does not have a runaway pod or parachute for emergency use.
See also
- Head of state and government air transport
- List of official vehicles of the President of the United States
- Boeing E-4 "Curfew"
References
Note
Bibliography
External links
- VC-25 - Air Force One Fact Sheet on the US Air Force site
- SAM 26000 fact sheet at the National Museum of the United States Air Force site
- The Presidential Gallery, featuring Boeing VC-137C known as SAM (Special Air Mission) 26000
- Air Force One page at WhiteHouse.gov
- Facts and History 707 as Air Force One and "Where are they now?" at 707sim.com
- Air Force One page at WhiteHouseMuseum.org
- The Air Force One Pavilion at ReaganFoundation.org
- Truman & amp; Library Museum
- The image gallery of the US Air Force
- The Boeing History of Air Force One
- Technical Orders 00-105E-9, Segment 9, Chapter 7
- Air Force One page on air-force-one.fr
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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