Last Updated: 9/15/06
My White House Days - A View
from the Bottom
(and a history of Presidential (Air Force
One) and other VIP flight)
Appendix II: White House
aircraft purchased after I left (1972)
R.J.Ribando, Copyright 1998, 2006
All Rights Reserved
A new
Air Force One was on order when I left in May 1972. SAM 58-6970, the 1958-model
VC-137B, didn't have the range to keep up with the newer VC-137C SAM 62-6000.
Besides that it was smaller and laid out totally differently inside, so was
never really a great backup. At the time there was also talk of Boeing shutting
down the 707 production line (actually the 89th acquired two more used 707's
in 1985 (85-6973 and 85-6974, one of them apparently seized from smugglers!)).
This photo by Air Force photographer Ken Hackman of the new aircraft SAM
72-7000 flying over the home of the first commander-in-chief [26] in the
beautiful
Click on the image for an
enlarged view (jpg at 519k, [26]).
Here's another
nice shot of SAM 72-7000 taking off at
Click on the image for an
enlarged, color view (jpg at 42k, [10]).
After serving seven administrations, SAM 27000 flew its final
presidential flight in August 2001. Then it was flown to
Three
McDonnell Douglas DC-9's (the military designation is the C9-C (13k,
[10])) were bought to replace the VC-131's and VC-118's in 1975 [1]. The USAF
already had DC-9's flying aeromedical evacuation missions as the C9 Nightingale. The
latter were seen frequently at Andrews, an important transhipment point for
servicemen wounded in
Starting
in 1983 Gulfstream 3's (C-20A ) (217k,
[28]) were bought to replace the Jetstars. These C-20's have a 4000 mile range
and seat twelve comfortably in their executive interior. Flights in a C-20
don't come cheaply; in 1991 the Air Force billed other governmental agencies
$5,329 per flight hour for C-20 use [29]. Occasionally C-20's have been
observed making touch-and-go landings at the Charlottesville Airport and flying
over the University grounds.
(They're easy to identify because of the distinctive paint scheme and the
"winglets.") More technical details may be found here.
The
current Air Force One and a backup were delivered in 1990 and 1991 [30,31].
Extensively modified Boeing 747-200's, the VC-25 aircraft
sports a paint scheme similar to that used formerly on the VC-137's. More
technical details may be found may be found by clicking here. An interesting
account by the former First Passenger may be found in Reference 32. Note that
expenditures like this one are nearly always authorized at the end of one
administration and delivered in the next! Per flying hour costs for the VC-25A
are currently $34,400. As an illustration of how extensive an operation moving
the president is, the late March 1998 trip to 6 countries in
The
first of four C-32A's,
a military version
of the Boeing
757, was delivered in March 1998. These aircraft are used by the Vice
President, Secretary of State, etc. Here's a VIP's view of the C-32 exterior
from the entry door. By August 2001 these and two C-37A aircraft (Gulfstream
5's) had replaced all the VC-137's [34]. You can tell the C-37's from the
C-20's by the larger
engines on the former. The C-37's are really quite attractive and
comfortable inside
and have a rather unique facility for bilateral
discussions at the aft end of the cabin!
Beginning
in December 2002 Boeing delivered four C-40B's (737-700)
to replace the C-9's.
The
big news in Presidential Flight is the recent selection of the Lockheed-Martin-lead team. to supply the
next generation of rotary-winged aircraft (Marine One) for the President.