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Air Force One

Posted July 15, 2009 @ 9:56 pm In Numbers,One | No Comments

Officially any plane that the president is currently flying in is designated “Air Force One.” This is demonstrated in a climatic scene in the movie Air Force One ^[1] (1997) in which the President transfers to the Air Force transport plane and its designation is immediately changed to “Air Force One.” But in common speech, “Air Force One” refers to the highly customized Boeing 747 that serves as the President’s plane.

The first plane to officially be known as “Air Force One” was a Boeing 707 during Kennedy’s administration. Currently, it is two different Boeing 747-200’s. These planes are equipped with all the things necessary to make them, if necessary, the White House ^[2] in the air. They are designed to withstand a nuclear explosion—their 1,000,000 feet of wiring is all fiber optic and their computer chips are all gallium arsenide, which are impervious to the electromagnetic bursts caused by nuclear blasts. Joel Achenbach reported in the Winter 1996 issue of Forbes FYI that “the government [originally] budgeted $265 million, firm, for two 747-200s. By the time Boeing delivered the planes two years late, in 1990, they had cost $650 million, the loss eaten by Boeing shareholders in return for the prestige of building the President’s jets.”

Air Force One has become indelibly linked in the American public’s minds with the President. Whether it is dramatic real life moments such as Lyndon Johnson ^[3] being sworn in as President ^[4] after John F. Kennedy’s assassination ^[5] or Nixon’s flight home after resigning in disgrace, or dramatic movie moments such as the President in “Independence Day” just barely escaping the blast from the aliens that destroys Washington DC, the plane and the President are seen as one. Sometimes the moments are not so dramatic, such as Ford’s famous fall ^[6].

How It's Used

“The White House left no detail unattended for what Mr. Bush described as 'this most unusual experience.' The breakfast fare on Air Force One was peanut butter and banana sandwiches, a recipe straight from Elvis's kitchen. Elvis movies — 'Love Me Tender' and 'Viva Las Vegas' — were available for viewing. And Elvis music played loudly over the speakers, until Mr. Bush asked that it be turned down.”

—Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Shaila Dewan, “In Memphis, Two Heads of Government Visit the Home of Rock ‘n’ Roll Royalty,” The New York Times, July 1, 2006.

"However, Obama not only came out alone but also became the first pitching president to dress like a fan in the bleachers. Either that or Air Force One lost his luggage. His blue jeans, sneakers and White Sox team jacket (celebrating his favorite team) brought cheers, snickers of surprise and some boos, presumably good-natured, in a NL town."

—Thomas Boswell, "Even the First Fan Is Joining the Fun," The Washington Post, July 15, 2009.

"The Communist Party celebrates 60 years in power today, but there have been two regimes since 1949. The punctuation mark falls somewhere between the arrival of Air Force One in Beijing in 1972 and the death of Mao in 1976. Mao's anointed successor was quickly pushed aside and the free-enterprise, pro-West faction of Deng Xiaoping assumed control. The regime changed forever."

—Ross Cameron, "The protesters won: no democracy, but a true Great Leap Forward," The Sydney Morning Herald, October 1, 2009.

"Imagine the scene aboard Air Force One, on the tarmac in Copenhagen last Friday. Barack Obama is exhausted, having flown the Atlantic overnight to back Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympic Games. Obama is also humiliated, since his efforts on behalf of his adopted home town have been roundly spurned. The US president knows he is returning to a White House under siege. Healthcare, the economy, spiralling unemployment and other knotty issues are blighting a first term that began with so much promise. The very last thing Obama wants to talk about is America's losing war in Afghanistan."

—Simon Tisdall, "Afghanistan: World briefing: Commander in chief's Kennedy moment," The Guardian (UK), October 5, 2009.

"There were whispers of hope three years ago, when Shuster was a supporting member on a team of underdogs that made a surprise appearance on the podium in Turin, Italy. It was reported that then-U. S. President George W. Bush watched the bronze-medal game from his perch inside Air Force One, and an online poll conducted by USA Today suggested curling was the sport most Americans enjoyed watching at the Olympics."

—Sean Fitz-Gerald, "Curling ready for another shot at U.S. hearts; Olympic stage nears; American curlers hope exposure grows the game," The National Post (Canada), October 22, 2009, p. B9.

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URLs in this post:

[1] Air Force One: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118571/

[2] White House: http://www.ealmanac.com/439/colors/the-white-house/

[3] Lyndon Johnson: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyndon_Johnson

[4] being sworn in as President: http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/lincoln-memorial/images/johnson-oath.gif

[5] John F. Kennedy’s assassination: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy_assassination

[6] Ford’s famous fall: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlz0he9rtKw

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