My White House Days

Last Updated: 9/14/06

My White House Days - A View from the Bottom
(and a history of Presidential (Air Force One) and other VIP flight)

Appendix I: White House aircraft that had retired before I arrived in 1970.

When President Roosevelt went to Casablanca to meet with Winston Churchill in January of 1943, he flew in the Dixie Clipper, a Boeing 314, for overwater portions of his trip [12]. (C-54's were used over land.) The Dixie was not an official Presidential aircraft, but a PanAm fleet aircraft which was nationalized and flown by PanAm pilots for the government for the duration of the war [20]. The improved reliability of aircraft and the construction of long, paved runways all over the world during WWII quickly made flying boats an anachronism. The Dixie flew for a couple of airlines and then was grounded by bankruptcy in 1949 and scrapped in 1952 [21]. Old movie buffs may remember "With a Song in My Heart" starring Susan Hayward, which tells of singer Jane Froman's recovery after the crash of the Dixie's sister ship, the Yankee Clipper, in Lisbon harbor. Unfortunately none of the twelve Clippers built survive.

The Air Force Museum Annex at Wright-Patterson has a number of other Presidential aircraft that had retired long before I got to Andrews. (The 1254th, predecessor of the 89th, moved from National (now Ronald Reagan National Airport) to Andrews in 1961 and became the 89th in 1966 [1], so all these aircraft were originally at National). Franklin D. Roosevelt's Douglas VC-54C (DC-4), dubbed the Sacred Cow, because of the special treatment it got while in Presidential service, sat quietly in a ditch at the Air and Space Museum's Garber facility in Silver Hill, MD for many years after its decommissioning in 1961 [12]. Although identified more closely with FDR, he flew it only once - from Malta to Yalta and back to Egypt in 1944 to meet with Stalin and Churchill. It was aboard the Sacred Cow that President Truman signed the bill creating a separate USAF in 1947 [18].

President Truman's Douglas VC-118 Liftmaster (DC-6), Independence still sports the bizarre paint scheme only he liked. The design was originally developed for American Airlines, which still uses an eagle as its emblem, but was pleased to donate this particular paint scheme to the government [4]. Since we earlier discussed airborne whizzes - legend has it that Mr. Truman had standing orders with his pilot to be notified when the Independence was crossing over Ohio, homestate of his nemesis Sen. Robert Taft [4]. Back then there was no EPA!

General Dwight Eisenhower flew the Columbine I (48-614) when he was Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe. Although not exactly a Presidential aircraft, it flew with the 89th and its predecessor. This VC-121A has been restored and is on display at the Pima Air Museum in Tucson. (Note that you can also see the nose of VC-137B 58-6971 in this photo.)

Columbine II, seen below with its crew at Washington National Airport in 1953 [11], was the official presidential aircraft during the first two years of his administration and the first to use the radio call sign "Air Force One." Another of an order of ten C-121A's (Lockheed Constellations) placed by the brand new USAF in 1948, 48-610 had flown nine times monthly to Iceland in 1949 and, after an interior upgrade, joined the VIP fleet at National in 1950 [22]. The Columbine II has been reported as being salvaged [4,12], but luckily that is not that end of the story [23]. It was sold for spare parts and then relegated to a scrapyard. Fortunately someone recognized the significance of the hulk, and it was restored to flying condition in the late 80's. The only former Presidential aircraft in private hands today, it was flown as recently as 1998 [38] and resides in Sante Fe. (This link has an excellent commentary on the restoration.)

Click on the image for an enlarged view (jpg at 34k bytes).

Five other "Connies" flew with the 1254th (and later the 89th) in addition to the two "Columbines" (610 and 614) already discussed. Aircraft 48-608 was the aircraft that was specially modified (to a VC-121B, the rest were "A's") and nicknamed the "Dewdrop," in anticipation of Thomas Dewey winning the 1948 election. After having given up many parts to get Columbine II flying again, 608 is reported to have been scrapped recently [40]. The Connie having the tail number one ahead of the Columbine II, 48-609, still flies the world to Airshows. (More Aviation Art!) She also flew VIP service out of Andrews before her Air Force retirement, and then for a few years was owned by John Travolta. Aircraft 48-612, (now N749VR ) was stored at Avra Valley, AZ, where it was used for spare parts for 48-609. Amazingly enough, 54 years after its delivery, it has recently been restored, flown to the Netherlands and painted in KLM livery for display at the Dutch National Aviodome Museum [38].

Aircraft 48-617 was destroyed in a non-fatal landing accident while flying as a spray plane in Canada. The final one, 48-611 (HI-393), also flew as a spray plane after its USAF retirement in 1968. Then it took a third career flying for Aerolineas Argo out of Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic, where it rests today, occasionally giving up parts to keep 48-609 flying [38].

Eisenhower's Columbine III a Lockheed VC-121E Super Constellation (you can tell the difference between regular and Super by the square windows in the latter) is on display at the USAF Museum. All three Columbines were named after the state flower of Mamie Eisenhower's adopted home state of Colorado [4]. The Columbine III saw its share of history; here for instance, she sits as the backdrop while Queen Elizabeth II (carrying roses), Prince Phillip and President Eisenhower review the troops following her arrival at National Airport. You can see the dome of the U.S. Capitol just to the left of Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, a very frequent flyer on the 1254th's aircraft, and for whom the airport was named several years later.

Lockheed Constellation Summary Chart

Up until Eisenhower's flight in an Aero Commander (U-4B) in 1955, Air Force and Secret Service regulations had prohibited a president from flying in an aircraft having fewer than four engines. The U-4B was subjected to extensive testing, and it was only after being flown on only one of its Lycoming GO-480-B engines from Oklahoma to Washington, that it was selected [24]. (Theodore Roosevelt had flown in a single-engine Wright Flyer in 1910, but that was after he had left office [4].) This aircraft got plenty of use during the "Gettysburg Airlift" while "Ike" was recuperating from his heart attack. Eisenhower also had a Bell UH-13J helicopter, but only flew in it once before responsibility for rotary wing flight of the President was assigned to the Army and Marines. Powered by a single Lycoming VO-540 engine, that vehicle is stored at the NASM Garber facility [25].

Monster Reciprocating Engines

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