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Airforce one is not an actual plane.
Air Force One is an air traffic control callsign for one of two planes that are at the President's
disposal.
They're identical except for their tail numbers which are 28000 and 29000.
However.
It should be noted that any aircraft of the military that the President flies on becomes
ONE: If the President jumps into a US Air force Aircraft it becomes Air Force One; the
President rides in US Army aircraft then it becomes Army One, and if he goes on any US
Navy aircraft then whatever he flies on becomes Navy One.
The helicopter that ferries the President from the White House to Joint Base Andrews
is called marine one because it belongs to the United States Marine Corps.
And finally, if the president happens to fly a plane that doesn’t belong to the armed
forces, then it will be called executive one.
Theodore Roosevelt was the first president to fly, although he was not in office at that
time.
He hopped on an early Wright flyer in 1910, which is basically a wooden biplane, you wouldn't
ever want to get on.
The official request for a presidential plane did not come until 1944.
Because planes were made safer and more reliable during the second World War.
A C-87 Liberator Express was reconfigured for use as the first dedicated VIP-and-presidential
transport aircraft and named Guess Where II, but the Secret Service rejected it because
of its safety record.
The United States Army Air Forces, now the Air Force, repurposed a C54 Skymaster, for
use by President Franklin Roosevelt.
They named it sacred cow and it was used until 1947.
For the next decade until 1958, presidents flew in the C1-18 Liftmaster named independence,
and then to C1-21 constellations named Columbine two and Columbine three.
Now, here's where Air Force One became the Air Force One we know today.
In 1953, President Eisenhower was flying under the callsign Air Force 8610, in the same airspace
were Eastern Airlines Flight 8610.
The ATC confused the two flights nearly causing a crash.
figuring that losing a president like that would be crazy, the callsign Air Force One
was implemented, so a mix-up like that would never happen again.
Then, in 1958, still under Eisenhower, Boeing 707s were used as Air Force ones, and that's
when presidents became jet-powered.
When John F. Kennedy was sworn in just three years later, he was the one who changed the
look of the planes.
Before then, Air Force One had a red and white color scheme and blocky letters.
And that was thought to be too aristocratic.
Even JFK said no no, and recommended Raymond Loewy to design a new color scheme and lettering.
By the way, this is the guy who designed the logos for IBM, Exxon shell, Lucky Strike Coast
Guard, and the Postal Service.
Because of him, we now have the presidential seal on the front of the plane, light baby
blue coloring, golden band down the center in fancy letters on Air Force One.
This is the look most of us are used to today.
And the same scheme was kept when air force one made the transition to Boeing 747-200
in 1990.
To become an Airforce one pilot, you need to join the 89th Airlift wing in Maryland,
and to join the 89th Airlift wing, you need to be a U.S. Airforce personnel.
You simply need to apply for transfer of assignment to the 89th Airlift Wing of the US Air Force’s
Air Mobility Command.
The 89th Airlift Wing is based at Joint Base Andrews just a couple of miles outside of
Washington, DC.
This wing not only flies the President, but Cabinet Members; Member of Congress; just
about any number of VIPs that require fast secure air travel.
To apply, you first must be a veteran USAF transport pilot.
Once you apply, your application will be scrutinized as it has never been before.
Now here is the tricky part, joining the 89th airwing is not where the story ends, to be
selected to fly the president, you need to make your way into to the presidential airlift
group inside the 89th Airwing, and to join the presidential airlift group, you need to
be a high-ranking officer, typically a LieutenantColonel or Colonel, a position which requires 22 years
of service in the USAF, if not more.
Much of the operation of the 89th Airlift Wing is not made public and exactly how the
air crew for SAM 28000 and the rest of the 89th Airlift Wing is not for public scrutiny.
But rest assured all personnel is checked out thoroughly.
They’re checked by the USAF Security; The FBI; The Secret Service, by pretty much everything.
Also, those applying for air crew status must have exemplary records with many hours of
flight time.
So whenever possible, the President will travel on marine one.
Marine One isn't the name of a specific helicopter.
The Marine Corps operates 35 helicopters of a few different types as marine ones which
might seem like overkill, but these helicopters are also often used to transport the vice
president when they're known as marine two or government VIPs.
While Marine One is occasionally used to transport the president from point to point its most
frequent mission is to bring the president from the White House to Andrews Air Force
Base.
The President's planes are based at Andrews Air Force Base.
So, this 12-mile trip is how the president starts and finishes any long-distance trip.
Much like the President's limo Marine One never flies alone.
Right after takeoff, it's escorted by as many as three to five other identical helicopters,
which shuffle positions in flight to throw off potential attackers.
To give you a sense of how efficient this entire transport system is, let's time a trip
from the White House to the UN headquarters in New York.
The 12-mile flight to Andrews Air Force Base takes about eight minutes on marine one.
Then, upon arrival, the president steps on board Air Force One, the President is always
the last person to step on Air Force One.
So, the second he is there, the door closes and the aircraft taxis for takeoff.
That means there's about five minutes between the touchdown of Marine One and the takeoff
of Air Force One.
From there.
It's about a 30-minute flight to JFK Airport in New York, followed by a seven-minute trip
on marine one to downtown Manhattan heliport then a six-minute motorcade to the United
Nations.
That means that if everything goes perfectly, including transfer times, it will take almost
exactly one hour for the President to go from stepping out of the White House to stepping
inside the United Nations.
And what is the cost of this hour-long trip?
Well, it's public information that air force one costs an estimated $206,337 per flight
hour.
So, this half-hour flight costs $103,169.
But of course, we need to include Marine One, Marine One by itself is actually fairly inexpensive
to operate.
While we don't know its exact operating costs.
One of the helicopters often used as Marine One is the Sikorsky UH-60.
Blackhawk, which costs $2,199 per flight hour, but of course Marine One always flies in formation
with up to five other helicopters per helicopter, a quarter-hour of flight time costs $530 or
$3,180 total.
The motorcades cost for the short trip is fairly minuscule, so we'll leave it out for
simplicity, but the helicopters and cars need to get to New York and this is done by loading
them up on a C-5 galaxy cargo plane which costs $100,941 per flight hour or 50,471 dollars
for the half-hour-long trip to New York altogether.
That's $156,820 for the hour-long trip to New York for $2,614 per minute and keep in
mind that the president needs to travel back too.
Ultimately transportation of the president cost the American taxpayers about $350 million
per year, roughly one-quarter of the $1.4 billion yearly White House Budget.
This is certainly a steep price, but many would argue that it's a small price to pay
to keep the most powerful person in the world safe.
The two planes have the same general structure as a normal Boeing 747-200B, and similar capabilities.
They are almost as tall as a six-story building, and as long as a city block.
Each has four General Electric CF6 jet engines, which provide 56,700 pounds of thrust a piece.
The top speed is between 630 and 700 miles per hour and the ceiling maximum is 45,100
feet.
With a fuel capacity of about 54000 gallons, the airforce one can fly half way around the
world nonstop.
The most remarkable feature on the plane is its extensive electronics.
It has 85 onboard telephones, a collection of two-way radios, fax machines and computer
connections.
It also has 19 televisions and assorted office equipment.
The phone system is set up for normal air to ground connections and secure lines.
The president and his staff can reach just about anybody in the world while cruising
tens of thousands of feet in the air.
The onboard electronics include about 238 miles of wiring, twice the amount you'd find
in a normal 747.
Heavy shielding is tough enough to protect the wiring and crucial electronics from the
electromagnetic pulse associated with a nuclear blast.
Another special addition is the in-flight refueling connection.
As with the B2 and other combat craft, in-flight refueling gives Air Force One the ability
to stay up in the air indefinitely, which could be crucial in an emergency situation.
Some of the most interesting parts of the plane - it's advanced avionics and defenses
- are classified.
But the Air Force asserts the two planes are definitely military aircraft, designed to
withstand an air attack.
Among other things, the plane is outfitted with electronic counter measures to jam enemy
radar.
The plane can also eject flares to throw heat-seeking missiles off course.
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