Description:
The
mission of the VC-25 aircraft -- Air Force One -- is to provide air
transport for the president of the United States. (POTUS)
Features
The
presidential air transport fleet consists of two specially configured
Boeing 747-200B's -- tail numbers 28000 and 29000 -- with the Air Force
designation VC-25. When the president is aboard either aircraft, or any
Air Force aircraft, the radio call sign is "Air Force One."
Principal
differences between the VC-25 and the standard Boeing 747, other than
the number of passengers carried, are the state of the art navigation,
electronic and communications equipment, its interior configuration and
furnishings, self-contained baggage loader, front and aft air-stairs,
and the capability for in-flight refueling.
Accommodations for
the president include an executive suite consisting of a stateroom
(with dressing room, lavatory and shower) and the president's office. A
conference/dining room is also available for the president, his family
and staff. Other separate accommodations are provided for guests,
senior staff, Secret Service and security personnel, and the news
media.
Two galleys provide up to 100 meals at one sitting. Six
passenger lavatories, including disabled access facilities, are
provided as well as a rest area and mini-galley for the aircrew. The
VC-25 also has a compartment outfitted with medical equipment and
supplies for minor medical emergencies. The aircraft is one of a kind.
Background
These
aircraft are flown by the Presidential Airlift Group, and are assigned
to Air Mobility Command's 89th Airlift Wing, Andrews Air Force Base,
Md.
Presidential air transport began in 1944 when a C-54 --
the "Sacred Cow" -- was put into service for President Franklin D.
Roosevelt. Then came the "Independence," a DC-6 (Liftmaster), which
transported President Harry S. Truman during the period 1947 to 1953.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower traveled aboard the "Columbine II" and
"Columbine III" from 1953 to 1961. While the call sign "Air Force One"
was first used in the 50s, President Kennedy's VC-137 (Boeing 707) was
the first aircraft to be popularly known as "Air Force One."
In
1962, a C-137C specifically purchased for use as Air Force One, entered
into service with the tail number 26000. It is perhaps the most widely
known and most historically significant presidential aircraft. Tail
number 26000 is the aircraft that carried President Kennedy to Dallas,
Nov. 22, 1963, and returned the body to Washington, D.C., following his
assassination. Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn into office as the 36th
president on board the aircraft at Love Field in Dallas. This fateful
aircraft also was used to return President Johnson's body to Texas
following his state funeral Jan. 24, 1973. In 1972 President Richard M.
Nixon made historic visits aboard 26000 to the People's Republic of
China and to the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Tail
number 26000 was retired May 1998, and is on display at the U.S. Air
Force Museum, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
Tail number 27000
replaced 26000 and carved its own history when it was used to fly
Presidents Nixon, Ford and Carter to Cairo, Egypt, Oct. 19, 1981, to
represent the United States at the funeral of Egyptian President Anwar
Sadat.
The first VC-25A -- tail number 28000 -- flew as "Air
Force One" on Sept. 6, 1990, when it transported President George Bush
to Kansas, Florida and back to Washington, D.C. A second VC-25A, tail
number 29000 transported Presidents Clinton, Carter and Bush to Israel
for the funeral of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. The VC-25A will usher
presidential travel into the 21st century, upholding the proud
tradition and distinction of being known as "Air Force One." |
WEFT Description
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- WINGS
- ENGINE
- FUSELAGE
- TAIL
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