Posted: 4/30/2005 3:13:53 PM EDT
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I did a Google search and haven't found the answer, so I'll ask here. When an AFO is decommisioned/replaced, what do they do with the old one? Scrap it, store it, sell it? 
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No, they have been around longer than that. The 'jumbo jet' days, was in the late 60's w/ the 747, but a presidental plane has been around since FDR, who used it once IIRC. |
You bring up a good point. Air Force One is the (public) callsign for whatever USAF aircraft POTUS is on at the time. He primarily rotates back and forth between the two presidential 747's, but there is no one certain aircraft. Personally, I'd like to see him fly on the E-4B's a little more often. |
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I heard some interesting factoids Re: AFO, supposedly it gets a complete servicing of all vital fluids every 24hrs. AFO has its own fuel supply that is guarded 24/7, and it travels with it where ever it goes. Supposedly AFO gets completely stripped down and rebuilt from the ground up every 6months. I don't remember where I heard these 'facts', I'm thinking from some History channel special on the Secret Service........ 
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During the 60s it was a Boeing VC-135, and VC-137 ( military 707) served as AF1. NOT a 747. The 747 was designated as the VC-25, the AF1 as we see it today, came into existence during President Bush's administration in the late 80s. |
It takes more than 6 months to build a 747, much less strip it down and rebuild it. |
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Any aircraft that the President flys on is called (Branch of Service) One. When Air Force One does not have the President on board it reverts to the call sign SAM (tail number). SAM stands for Special Air Mission. None of the 707 based Air Force Ones were 135's, they were all 137's. Tinker AFB does not have an Air Force One aircraft. FDR’s official aircraft was a modified Consolidated B-24D Liberator, a C-87A "Liberator Express" VIP Transport. FDR never flew in it. It was named Guess Where II and it flew First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt in 1943. The C-87A was a VIP transport version of the basic C-87. The C-87 had been essentially a "no-frills" transport, with little attention being paid to passenger comfort. The C-87A was designed for more passenger comfort, and had only 16 seats. It could be fitted with Pullman-type upholstered seats that could be converted into five berths. Because of the different seating accommodation, the window arrangement was different. A total of six were built, three for the USAAF and three for the US Navy. C-87A 41-24159 later became the first "Air Force One" for President Franklin Roosevelt, and was renamed *Guess Where II*. Disposition Unknown. In 1944, FDR took delivery of a Douglas C-54 known as Sacred Cow. 42-107451 Douglas construction number 7470 is VC-54A "Sacred Cow" and was used by Presidents Roosevelt and Truman. Before taking FDR to Yalta, it was painted as 42-72252 and remained with that identity ever since. Currently in USAF Museum, Dayton, OH. The first purpose-built aircraft to fly the president of the United States, the Sacred Cow is the only VC-54C ever constructed. To an untrained eye, it looks like any other C-54, but the Sacred Cow is unique. Beginning with a C-54A fuselage and a C-54B wings, Douglas made numerous modifications. For example, the ailerons are different from any B model. Furthermore, the Sacred Cow underwent extensive interior modifications. One special feature is an elevator behind the passenger cabin to lift the president in his wheelchair in and out of the plane-an otherwise difficult procedure. The passenger compartment includes a conference room with a large desk and a bulletproof picture window. Roosevelt used the Sacred Cow only once; he died in April 1945. However, the Sacred Cow remained in presidential service during the first 27 months of the Truman Administration. On July 26, 1947, President Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947 while on board the Sacred Cow. This act established the Air Force as an independent service, making the Sacred Cow the "birthplace" of the U.S. Air Force. President Harry S. Truman retired the Sacred Cow and replaced it in 1947 with a Douglas DC-6 known as the Independence. It was replaced by a Lockheed C-121 Constellation named Columbine II when Dwight D. Eisenhower took office in 1953. 46-505 , the VC-118 was a military variation of the Douglas DC-6 commercial airliner. In 1947, USAAF officials ordered the 29th production DC-6 to be modified as a replacement for the aging VC-54C "Sacred Cow" Presidential aircraft. It differs from the standard DC-6 configuration in that the aft fuselage was converted into a stateroom; the main cabin seated 24 passengers or could be made up into 12 "sleeper" berths. The VC-118 was formally commissioned into the AAF on July 4, 1947, and was nicknamed "Independence" for the President's hometown in Missouri. Probably the plane's most historic flight occurred when it carried President Truman to Wake Island in Oct. 1950 to discuss the Korean situation with Gen. Douglas MacArthur. In May 1953, after nearly six years of White House service, the "Independence" was retired as a Presidental aircraft and subsequently served several Air Force organizations as a VIP transport. It was retired for display at the USAF Museum in 1965. In 1977-78 Museum personnel restored "Independence" to its former Presidental markings and eagle-like paint scheme. 53-7885 Lockheed VC-121E Super Constellation Lockheed construction number 4151 "Colombine III" presidential aircraft. Ordered by USN as R7V-1 Bu. No. 131650and diverted during construction as a Presidential aircraft. Operated throughout the Eisenhower administration. Replaced in Oct. 1962 by Boeing VC-137C. 53-7885 is now on display at WPAFB Museum. The C-121 is the military version of the famed "Constellation" commercial transport. During WW II, the AAF purchased 22 early model Constellations which were designated C-69s, and between 1948 and 1955 the USAF ordered 150 C-121s for use as cargo and passenger carriers, executive transports and airborne early warning picket ships. The aircraft on display, the only VC-121E built, was President Eisenhower's personal airplane between 1954 and 1961. Mrs. Eisenhower christened it "Columbine III" in honor of the official flower of Colorado, her adopted home state, in ceremonies on Nov. 24, 1954. "Columbine III" served as the Presidental aircraft until President Eisenhower left office in January 1961. It remained in service transporting government officials and visiting foreign dignitaries throughout the world until it was retired to the U.S. Air Force Museum in 1966. Presidential VC-137 Aircraft and Where they are Now 58-6970 First of three 707s purchased in 1959 by the Air Force as a VC-137A and delivered on May 4, 1959. America's first official presidential jet powered aircraft that started service for President Eisenhower until Kennedy and its replace 62-6000 in 1962. SAM 970 remained as a Presidential backup until her retirement in 1996 to the Museum of Flight, Seattle. 58-6971 Second of the three 707s purchased in 1959 by the Air Force as a VC-137A and delivered on May 12, 1959. SAM 971 was assigned as a presidential backup aircraft. The aircraft accumulated over 18,800hrs TAT in the presidential fleet by 1996. It is now on display at Pima Air & Space Museum in Arizona. 58-6972 Last of the three 707s purchased in 1959 by the Air Force as a VC-137A and delivered on June 30, 1959. SAM 972 was assigned as a presidential backup aircraft. The aircraft accumulated over 24,359hrs TAT in the presidential fleet by 1996. It was removed from service at McConnell AFB and stripped for parts. Many cockpit parts were acquired by Air Force One Simulator Kansas Project to complete the Boeing formerly owned 707 serial #0001 simulator. The aircraft was finally scraped 1998. 62-6000 Delivered October 9, 1962 as a VC-137C with the livery paint theme designed by industrial stylist Raymond Loewy and First Lady Jackie Kennedy. This presidential paint design is still used by the president's aircraft today. SAM 26000 was official retired by Vice President Al Gore on March 24, 1998 and is on display at the Air Force Museum is Dayton, Ohio. 72-7000 Delivered August 9, 1972 as a VC-137C to succeed SAM 26000 as the primary presidential aircraft known as Air Force One. SAM 27000 was flown mostly by President Reagan in his eight year term and was official retired by President George W. Bush on September 8, 2001. SAM 27000 is on display in a new expansion to the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, Calif. called the Ronald Reagan Presidential Air Force One Pavilion. Air Force One Today The current presidential fleet consists of two specifically-configured Boeing 747-200B series aircraft - tail numbers 28000 and 29000 - with Air Force designation VC-25A. When the President is aboard either craft, or any other Air Force aircraft, the radio call sign is "Air Force One." |
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Why? The VC-25 has the same shit as the E-4B has. The real ass kickers are the US Navy's E-6B "Looking Glass" aircraft. Direct control of "the red button" for the USA's nuclear based defenses.
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Here are some more I took at the Air Force Museum in March. This first one is the presidential seal on the outside of the VC 54C "Sacred Cow" which was Roosevelt's and was also used by Truman.  This one is my Wife standing at the door of the VC-118 "Independence" which was used by Truman.  This is the VC-140B which carried Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan many times, however it was not primarily a presidential plane. (sacred cow is in the background)  The rest of these are more pictures of tail #26000 "Air Force One"     
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