Introduction
- Impressive features of the President of the United States' official state aircraft
- Importance of Air Force One in projecting American confidence and authority
Air Force One: Not Just an Aircraft
- Air Force One as an air traffic control call sign
- The distinction of Air Force One with the presence of the President
- Downgrading of the call sign when the President is not on board
The Origins of Air Force One
- Dwight Eisenhower and the first use of the call sign
- President John F. Kennedy's influence on the modern concept of Air Force One
- Jackie Kennedy's involvement in designing the iconic blue and white livery
Historic Moments and Tragedy
- Air Force One's role in historic moments, including JFK's assassination
- Air Force One transporting Kennedy's body and witnessing Lyndon Johnson's oath
Fun and Quirky Facts about Air Force One
- Gerald Ford's love for Coarse beer
- Ronald Reagan's affinity for jelly beans and in-flight putting green
The Two Identical Jumbo Jets
- Twin Boeing 747-200Bs serving as Air Force One
- Differences and self-sufficiency of Air Force One compared to regular passenger jets
Comfort and Security on Air Force One
- Gourmet food production and onboard medical facility
- Extensive communication systems and advanced defensive technology
The Symbolism and Cost of Air Force One
- Symbolic value and prestige of Air Force One
- The high cost of operating Air Force One and its significance
Speculation and Pop Culture
- Speculations about classified technology on board
- Depiction of Air Force One in movies and the concept of an escape pod
Conclusion
- The significance of Air Force One as a symbol of American power and leadership
- The allure and fascination surrounding the President's official state aircraft
FAQs
Air Force One: The President's Flying Domain
By any measure, the President of the United States' official state aircraft is an impressive piece of kit! Not only is Air Force One tricked out with all the latest defensive gizmos, but it also performs as a flying embassy, pampering eminent guests and projecting American confidence and authority around the world.
But what actually goes down inside that world-famous fuselage of Air Force One? Today we are taking to skies and finding out what makes Air Force One so special.Before we go deeper,its important to understand something very basic: Air Force One isnt technically an aircraft at all, its an air traffic control call sign denoting any Aircraft that happens to have a sitting President on board at the time.Usually,this is the familiar blue and white jet we have all seen on TV a hundred times.
However,it's crucial to stress that when that same plane jets off later that day without the President,it's no longer Air Force One. This quirk of nomenclature was brought home painfully to Richard Nixon after his resignation in 1974. At the exact moment his successor, Gerald Ford, was being sworn into office, Nixon's mid-air flight to California was unceremoniously downgraded from Air Force One to plain old SAM-2700.
The Origins of Air Force One
Dwight Eisenhower was the first President to enjoy the use of the iconic call sign. The term "Air Force One" was first coined after a hairy moment in 1953 when air traffic controllers couldn't distinguish between the President's Lockheed Constellation and a nearby commercial plane that happened to be using an identical flight number.
It was President John F. Kennedy who did the most to craft our modern notion of what Air Force One actually is. JFK's savvy instinct for political theater inspired him to propose a kind of flying White House. A specifically modified Boeing 707 was promptly commissioned. Kennedy's glamorous wife, Jackie, is most often credited with overseeing the classic blue and white livery and chic interiors we all know and love. What's less well known is that the French-born designer Raymond Louis, who also designed the classic Coke bottle and Lucky Strike cigarette boxes, was heavily involved too. Louis based the grandiose all-caps "United States of America" logo on the fuselage upon the Castleon typeface, which he had recently seen used to great effect on an original copy of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. President Kennedy loved Air Force One, referring to it as his baby, but tragedy was soon to strike in November 1963. Air Force One ferried Kennedy to his final engagement and motorcade through the city of Dallas, during which he was brutally assassinated. In the immediate aftermath, Kennedy's Boeing 707 bore the painful duty of carrying the President's body home. On that same flight, Kennedy's successor, Lyndon Johnson, was sworn into office, documented in the haunting photograph of him with his hand on the Bible, standing next to a grieving Jackie Kennedy.
Air Force One's role in such historic moments, of course, makes it very special indeed, but it isn't all heavyweight drama. Some Presidents have even managed to inject some fun into the Air Force One story. Take Gerald Ford, for instance. Every inch a man of the people, Ford was a huge fan of Coors beer. In those days, Coors was only available in a handful of states out west. So, whenever Ford flew that way on Presidential business, he'd insist that the staff stock up Air Force One with crates of his beloved Coors, so he'd have a stash to enjoy back home at the White House. Somewhat more innocently, in the 1980s, Ronald Reagan kept jars of jelly beans on board Air Force One. Reagan can also be seen in photographs practicing his golf game across a miniature in-flight putting green mat.
The Two Identical Jumbo Jets
Looking ahead to today, the Air Force One we know and love is a jumbo jet, right?... Wrong! It's actually two identical jumbo jets: twin Boeing 747-200Bs bearing tail numbers 2800 and 2900, respectively, share the job, ensuring there's always a backup in case of an emergency. And although these mighty aircraft might look superficially like the ones you use to go on vacation, they're actually quite different animals underneath.
For one, they're almost entirely self-sufficient. Air Force One's 747s have their own fold-out staircases and even their own baggage loading machinery, keeping interaction with potentially suspicious ground crews to a minimum. They can also refuel in mid-air and technically remain airborne indefinitely if a crisis crops up. Air Force One's 26-strong regular crew are vetted to the highest military standards but, once established on the job, enjoy a rare intimacy and familiarity with the commander-in-chief. As such, Presidents' final flights are famously emotional affairs.
Comfort and Security on Air Force One
The food available on board is somewhat better than your average humdrum airline fare. Two kitchens, each boasting their own $12 million refrigerator, are capable of producing gourmet-standard grub for up to 100 people at a time. Enough food for 2000 meals is kept on the plane always, just in case, with supplies sourced by crew members wearing disguises at randomly selected grocery stores to prevent potential poisoning or other similar skulduggery. If the worst should happen and the President gets sick, Air Force One is kitted out with an advanced onboard medical facility complete with a foldout operating table, a fully stocked pharmacy, and a doctor on call 24/7. Vital stocks of blood matching the commander-in-chief's blood type are also stashed aboard.
Naturally, the White House of the skies has some decent communications gear on board—no begging the stewardess for Wi-Fi access here! There are reputedly 85 separate secure phone lines, supplemented by a number of two-way radios and even a fax machine. Well, you never know! As many as 19 television sets, reportedly costing several thousand dollars apiece, and ultra-fast internet keep the President and his staff in constant contact with the ground. Some 238 miles of internal wiring, about twice as much as a regular 747, keep the lights on no matter what, as you might expect.
Air Force One is also kitted out with the latest defensive technology. Its heavy shielding armor can help it withstand much of the fallout from a nuclear detonation, while gizmos embedded around the fuselage help scramble infrared missile guidance systems and hostile radar. Not to mention the fact that Air Force One routinely ferries the infamous nuclear football around. This briefcase holds the necessary codes for launching an intercontinental atomic strike. How's that for carry-on weaponry!
All this technology comes at a mind-blowing cost. According to an Obama-era Freedom of Information request, Air Force One costs the American taxpayer some $12,067 for every hour it's up in the air. The fuel alone sets Uncle Sam back $80,000 an hour. But the symbolism and prestige of Air Force One are surely worth every penny. Just look at how much mileage movie makers get out of this iconic airborne American institution. It really is quite special. And of course, many, if not most, of the advanced avionics and defense systems aboard Air Force One are classified, but still, it's fun to speculate. Put it this way, in at least four of the many movies set on Air Force One, the President uses a private one-seater escape pod. To be clear, the real-life Secret Service flatly denies such an escape pod exists, but then they would say that, wouldn't they!
Hope you liked this in depth review of Air Force One.Don't forget to share this article with your friends nd family and be sure to check out our other posts as well that we are sure will interest you as much as this one did.
FAQs
1. How did Air Force One get its name?
The call sign "Air Force One" was first coined in 1953 when air traffic controllers had trouble distinguishing between the President's Lockheed Constellation and a nearby commercial plane with the same flight number.
2. Who designed the iconic blue and white livery of Air Force One?
Jackie Kennedy,the wife of President John F.Kennedy is often credited with overseeing the design of the classic blue and white Air Force One. However the French born designer Raymond Louis was heavily involved in the design process as well.
3. How many jumbo jets are there for Air Force One?
There are actually two identical jumbo jets that serve as Air Force One: twin Boeing 747-200Bs with tail numbers 2800 & 2900. This is to ensure that theres always a backup in case of an sudden emergency.
4. What special features does Air Force One have for the President's comfort and security?
Air Force One is equipped with two kitchens capable of producing gourmet meals, an onboard medical facility, advanced communication systems, and defensive technology to protect against missile guidance systems and radar. It also carries the nuclear football, a briefcase containing the necessary codes for launching a nuclear strike.
5. Does Air Force One have an escape pod?
There is speculation about the existence of an escape pod on Air Force One, but the real-life Secret Service denies its existence. The escape pod concept is depicted in several movies, but its presence on the actual aircraft is not confirmed.
0 Comments