Air Force One

For the current aircraft most commonly used as Air Force One, see Boeing VC-25. For the 1997 film, see Air Force One (film). For the Nike sneaker, see Nike Air Force. For other uses, see Air Force One (disambiguation).

SAM 29000, one of two VC-25As used as Air Force One, approaching Dayton International Airport in October 2012

Air Force One is the official air traffic control-designated call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. The term is commonly used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modified and used to transport the president, and as a metonym for the primary presidential aircraft, VC-25, although it can be used to refer to any Air Force aircraft the president travels on.[1][2]

The idea of designating specific military aircraft to transport the president arose during World War II when military advisors in the War Department were concerned about the risk of using commercial airlines for presidential travel. In 1944, a C-54 Skymaster was converted for use as the first purpose-built presidential aircraft.[3] Dubbed the Sacred Cow and operated by the Army Air Force, it carried President Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Yalta Conference in February 1945 and was used for another two years by President Harry S. Truman.[4]

The "Air Force One" call sign was created in 1954, after a Lockheed Constellation carrying President Dwight D. Eisenhower entered the same airspace as a commercial airline flight using the same flight number.[5] Since the introduction of SAM 26000 in 1962, the primary presidential aircraft has carried the distinctive livery designed by Raymond Loewy.[6][7]

Other aircraft designated as Air Force One have included another Lockheed Constellation, Columbine III; three Boeing 707s, introduced in the 1960s and 1970s; and the current Boeing VC-25As. Since 1990, the presidential fleet has consisted of two highly customized Boeing 747-200B (VC-25A) aircraft.[6] The USAF has ordered two Boeing 747-8s to serve as the next presidential aircraft, designated VC-25Bs and expected to enter service no earlier than 2026.[8]

From time to time, presidents have invited other world leaders to travel with them on Air Force One. In 1973, Nixon invited Soviet general secretary Leonid Brezhnev to fly with him to California from Washington, D.C.[9] In 1983, President Reagan and Queen Elizabeth II toured the U.S. West Coast aboard the aircraft.[10] In 2012, President Barack Obama took British Prime Minister David Cameron to a basketball game in Ohio.[11]

  1. ^ "Air Force One". The White House. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  2. ^ "Fact check: Any plane carrying the US president is called 'Air Force One'". reuters.com. 12 February 2021.
  3. ^ "Douglas VC-54C "Sacred Cow"". National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
  4. ^ "C-54M Skymaster – Air Mobility Command Museum". Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  5. ^ Price, Mark J. (23 November 2014). "Local history: Cuyahoga Falls aviator Billy Draper named 'Air Force One' as Eisenhower's pilot". Akron Beacon Journal.
  6. ^ a b "Boeing 747 to receive presidential paint job". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. 28 June 1990. p. B6.
  7. ^ Prisco, Jacopo (3 July 2019). "Out of the blue: A look back at Air Force One's classic design". CNN. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  8. ^ Weisgerber, Marcus (27 April 2022). "CEO: Boeing Should Have Rejected Trump's Air Force One Deal". Defense One. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  9. ^ "Richard Nixon en route to California with Leonid Brezhnev". CVCE, 22 June 1973. Retrieved: 14 March 2012.
  10. ^ Dorr 2002, p. 114
  11. ^ Robinson, Nick. "David Cameron, Barack Obama and the Special Relationship". BBC, 13 March 2012. Retrieved: 13 March 2012.