Air Force One

For the current aircraft, see Boeing VC-25.

For other uses, see Air Force One (disambiguation).

Air Force One
SAM 28000, one of the two VC-25s used as Air Force One, above Mount Rushmore

Air Force One is the official air traffic control call sign of any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States.^[1] In common parlance the term refers to those Air Force aircraft whose primary mission is to transport the president; however, any U.S. Air Force aircraft may carry the "Air Force One" call sign while the president is on board. Air Force One is a prominent symbol of the American presidency and its power,^[2] with the aircraft being the most famous and most photographed in the world.^[3]

The idea of designating specific military aircraft to transport the President arose in 1943, when officials of the United States Army Air Forces – the predecessor to the U.S. Air Force – became concerned with relying on commercial airlines to transport the President. A C-87 Liberator Express was reconfigured for use as a presidential transport; however, it was rejected by the Secret Service amid concerns over the aircraft's safety record. A C-54 Skymaster was then converted for presidential use; this aircraft, dubbed the Sacred Cow, transported President Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Yalta Conference in February 1945, and was subsequently used for another two years by President Harry S. Truman.

The "Air Force One" call sign was created after a 1953 incident involving a flight carrying President Dwight D. Eisenhower entered the same airspace as a commercial airline flight using the same call sign. Several aircraft have been used as Air Force One since the creation of the presidential fleet. Since 1990, the presidential fleet has consisted of two Boeing VC-25As – specifically configured, highly customized Boeing 747-200B series aircraft. The Air Force is looking into replacing the two VC-25 aircraft with three replacement aircraft beginning in 2017.

History

On 11 October 1910, Theodore Roosevelt became the first U.S. President to fly in an aircraft, although at the time of the flight in an early Wright Flyer from Kinloch Field (near St. Louis, Missouri), he was no longer in office, having been succeeded by William Howard Taft. The record-making occasion was a brief overflight of the crowd at a country fair but was nonetheless, the beginning of presidential air travel.^[4]

Prior to World War II, overseas and cross-country presidential travel was rare. Lack of wireless telecommunication and quick transportation made long-distance travel impractical, as it took much time and isolated the president from events in Washington, D.C. Railroads were a safer and more reliable option if the President needed to travel to distant states. By the late 1930s, with the arrival of aircraft such as the Douglas DC-3, increasing numbers of the U.S. public saw passenger air travel as a reasonable mode of transportation. All-metal aircraft, more reliable engines, and new radio aids to navigation had made commercial airline travel safer and more convenient. Life insurance companies even began to offer airline pilots insurance policies, albeit at extravagant rates, and many commercial travelers and government officials began using the airlines in preference to rail travel, especially for longer trips.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first president to fly in an aircraft while in office. The first aircraft obtained specifically for presidential travel was a Douglas Dolphin amphibian delivered in 1933 which was designated RD-2 by the US Navy and based at the Naval base at Anacostia D.C. The Dolphin was modified with a luxury upholstery for four passengers and a small separate sleeping compartment.^[5] The aircraft remained in service as a presidential transport from 1933 till 1939.^[6] There are no reports as to whether the president ever flew in the aircraft though. During World War II, Roosevelt traveled on the Dixie Clipper, a Pan Am-crewed Boeing 314 flying boat to the 1943 Casablanca Conference, in Morocco, a flight that covered 5,500 miles (in three "legs").^[7] The threat from the German submarines throughout the Battle of the Atlantic made air travel the preferred method of transatlantic transportation.^[8]

President Franklin D. Roosevelt's C-54 Skymaster aircraft, nicknamed "the Sacred Cow".

Concerned about relying upon commercial airlines to transport the president, USAAF leaders ordered the conversion of a military aircraft to accommodate the special needs of the Commander in Chief.^[9] The first dedicated aircraft proposed for presidential use was a C-87A VIP transport aircraft. This aircraft, number 41-24159, was re-modified in 1943 for use as a presidential VIP transport, the Guess Where II, intended to carry President Franklin D. Roosevelt on international trips.^[10] Had it been accepted, it would have been the first aircraft to be used in presidential service, in effect the first Air Force One. However, after a review of the C-87's highly controversial safety record in service, the Secret Service flatly refused to approve the Guess Where II for presidential carriage.^[10] Also, the C-87 was a derivative of the B-24 Liberator bomber, so it presented strong offensive impressions to both enemy fighter aircraft as well as foreign dignitaries being visited, an issue not present with airframes that were used purely for transport. The Guess Where II was then used to transport senior members of the Roosevelt administration on various trips. In March 1944, it transported Eleanor Roosevelt on a goodwill tour of several Latin American countries. The C-87 was scrapped in 1945.^[10]

The Secret Service subsequently reconfigured a Douglas C-54 Skymaster for duty as a presidential transport. This VC-54C aircraft, nicknamed the Sacred Cow, included a sleeping area, radio telephone, and retractable elevator to discreetly lift Roosevelt in his wheelchair. As modified, the VC-54C was used by President Roosevelt only once, on his trip to the Yalta Conference in February 1945.^[9]

The Independence used primarily by President Truman

After Roosevelt died in spring 1945, Vice President Harry S. Truman became President. The legislation that created the U.S. Air Force, the National Security Act of 1947, was signed by Truman while on board the VC-54C.^[9] He replaced the VC-54C in 1947 with a modified C-118 Liftmaster, calling it the Independence (also the name of Truman's hometown in Missouri). This was the first aircraft acting as Air Force One that had a distinctive exterior–a bald eagle head painted on its nose.

The presidential call sign was established for security purposes during the administration of Dwight D. Eisenhower. The change stemmed from a 1953 incident where an Eastern Airlines commercial flight (8610) had the same call sign as a flight the president was on (Air Force 8610). The aircraft accidentally entered the same airspace, and after the incident the unique call sign "Air Force One" was introduced for the presidential aircraft. The first official flight of Air Force One was in 1959 during the Eisenhower administration.

The Columbine III used by President Eisenhower

Eisenhower also introduced four other propeller aircraft, the Lockheed C-121 Constellations (VC-121E) to presidential service. These aircraft were named Columbine II and Columbine III by Mamie Eisenhower after the columbine, the official state flower of Colorado, her adopted home state. Two Aero Commanders were also added to the fleet and earned the distinction of being the smallest aircraft ever to serve as Air Force One. President Eisenhower also upgraded Air Force One's technology by adding an air-to-ground telephone and an air-to-ground teletype machine.

Boeing 707s

Main articles: VC-137C SAM 26000 and VC-137C SAM 27000

Towards the end of Eisenhower's term in 1958, the Air Force added three Boeing 707 jets (as VC-137s designated SAM 970, 971, and 972), into the fleet.^[11] Eisenhower became the first president to use the VC-137 during his "Flight to Peace" Goodwill tour, from 3 December through 22 December 1959. He visited 11 Asian nations, flying 22,000 miles (35,000 km) in 19 days, about twice as fast as he would have on Columbine.

Boeing 707 (SAM 26000) served Presidents Kennedy to Clinton.

It was under John F. Kennedy that presidential air travel officially entered the jet age.^[12] He had used the Eisenhower-era jets for trips to Canada, France, Austria and the United Kingdom.^[13] However, in October 1962, the administration purchased a C-137 Stratoliner, a modified long-range 707—Special Air Mission (SAM) 26000.^[14]

The Air Force had attempted a special presidential livery of their own design: a scheme in red and metallic gold, with the nation's name in block letters. Kennedy felt the aircraft appeared too regal, and, on advice from his wife, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, he contacted the French-born American industrial designer Raymond Loewy for help in designing a new livery and interiors for the VC-137 jet.^[2] Loewy met with the president, and his earliest research on the project took him to the National Archives, where he looked at the first printed copy of the United States Declaration of Independence, and saw the country's name set widely spaced and in upper case in a typeface called Caslon. He chose to expose the polished aluminum fuselage on the bottom side, and used two blues; a slate-blue associated with the early republic and the presidency, and a more contemporary cyan to represent the present and future. The presidential seal was added to both sides of the fuselage near the nose, a large American flag was painted on the tail, and the sides of the aircraft read "United States of America" in all capital letters. Loewy's work won immediate praise from the president and the press. The VC-137 markings were adapted for the larger VC-25 when it entered service in 1990.^[15]

SAM 26000 was in service from 1962 to 1998, serving Presidents Kennedy to Clinton. On 22 November 1963, SAM 26000 carried President Kennedy to Dallas, Texas, where it served as the backdrop as President and Mrs. Kennedy greeted well-wishers at Dallas' Love Field. Later that afternoon, Kennedy was assassinated, and Vice President Lyndon Johnson assumed the job of president and took the oath of office aboard SAM 26000. At Johnson's request, the plane carried Kennedy's body back to Washington.^[16] Seats and a bulkhead in the rear of the plane were removed so Jacqueline Kennedy could sit with the slain president–avoiding the indignity of transporting the casket in the cargo hold.^[17] It also flew over Arlington National Cemetery as Kennedy was being laid to rest, following 50 fighter jets. A decade later, it brought Johnson's own body to Washington for his state funeral and then back home to Austin, Texas.^[18][19][20] As the former president was laid to rest at his ranch, a former pilot of SAM 26000 presented the flag to Lady Bird Johnson.^[21] The former pilot also escorted her during the state funeral, rather than commanding general of the Military District of Washington (MDW).^[22]

Boeing 707 SAM 27000 as Air Force One SAM 27000 served Presidents Nixon to George H. W. Bush, and was the primary transport for Nixon to Reagan.

SAM 26000 was replaced in 1972 by another VC-137, Special Air Mission 27000, although SAM 26000 was kept as a backup until it was finally retired in 1998.^[18] SAM 26000 is now on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. Richard Nixon was the first president to use SAM 27000, and the newer aircraft served every president until it was replaced by two VC-25 aircraft (SAM 28000 and 29000) in 1990. After announcing his intention to resign, Nixon boarded SAM 27000 to travel to California. Colonel Ralph Albertazzie, then pilot of Air Force One recounted Nixon's trip to California the day he resigned. After Mr. Ford was sworn in as president, the plane had to be redesignated as SAM 27000, indicating no president was on board the aircraft. “Air Force One was 39,000 feet over a point 13 miles southwest of Jefferson City, Missouri,” Albertazzie wrote. “The time was 3 minutes and 25 seconds past noon." He "picked up his microphone and spoke to ground control: ‘Kansas City, this was Air Force One. Will you change our call sign to SAM 27000?’ Back came the reply: ‘Roger, SAM 27000. Good luck to the President.’ “ ‘Roger, 27000.’ ” ^[23]

SAM 27000 was decommissioned in 2001 by President George W. Bush, flown to San Bernardino International Airport in California, and later dismantled and taken to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, where it was reassembled and is currently on permanent display.

Boeing 747s

Air Force One and Air Force Two at Paris-Orly Airport

See also: Boeing VC-25

Though Ronald Reagan's two terms as president saw no major changes to Air Force One, the manufacture of the presidential aircraft version of the 747 began during his presidency. The USAF issued a Request For Proposal in 1985 for two wide-body aircraft with a minimum of three engines and an unrefueled range of 6,000 miles. Boeing with the 747 and McDonnell Douglas with the DC-10 submitted proposals, and the Reagan Administration ordered two identical 747s to replace the aging 707s he used.^[24] The interior designs were drawn up by First Lady Nancy Reagan, and were reminiscent of the American Southwest.^[24] The first of two aircraft designated VC-25A was delivered in 1990, during the administration of George H. W. Bush. Delays were experienced to allow for additional work to protect the aircraft from electromagnetic pulse (EMP) effects.

The VC-25 is equipped with both secure and unsecure phone and computer communications systems, enabling the president to perform duties while in the air in the event of an attack on the United States.

President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush walk on the tarmac as Air Force One sits at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, 1 March 2006.

The presidential air fleet is maintained by the 89th Airlift Wing at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland.

Air Force One usually does not have fighter aircraft to escort the presidential aircraft over the United States, but this has occurred. In June 1974, while President Nixon was on his way to a scheduled stop in Syria, Syrian fighter jets intercepted Air Force One to act as escorts. However, the Air Force One crew was not informed in advance and, as a result, took evasive action including a dive.^[25]

On 9/11

One of the most dramatic episodes aboard Air Force One happened during the 9/11 attacks. President George W. Bush was interrupted at Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida, after the attack on the World Trade Center South Tower in New York City. He took off on a VC-25 from Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport with Colonel Mark Tillman, the senior pilot of Air Force One that day, in charge. Air traffic controllers gave Air Force One an ominous warning that a passenger jet was close to Air Force One and was unresponsive to calls. "As we got over Gainesville, Florida., we got the word from Jacksonville Center. They said, 'Air Force One you have traffic behind you and basically above you that is descending into you, we are not in contact with them - they have shut their responder off.' And at that time it kind of led us to believe maybe someone was coming into us in Sarasota, they saw us take off, they just stayed high and are following us at this point. We had no idea what the capabilities of the terrorist were at that point."^[26]

In response to this reported threat, Col. Tillman said he flew Air Force One out into the Gulf of Mexico to test whether the other aircraft would follow. The other jet continued on its route, and Tillman said that it was later explained to him that an airliner that had lost its transponder and that the pilots on-board had neglected to switch to a new radio frequency. The transponder of a plane transmits an electronic identification signal of itself. ^[26]

A threat came again when Tillman received a message warning of an imminent attack on Air Force One. "We got word from the vice president and the staff that 'Angel was next,' Angel being the classified call sign of Air Force One. Once we got into the Gulf [of Mexico] and they passed to us that 'Angel was next,' at that point I asked for fighter support. If an airliner was part of the attack, it would be good to have fighters on the wing to go ahead and take care of us." At this point, Tillman said that the plan to fly the president back to Washington, DC was aborted and instead Tillman landed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana and Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, where the president made a speech. Tillman explained that this was due to his concern that because of the reported threat, Air Force One would be attacked when he returned to Andrews Air Force Base. ^[26]

After the preliminary stops, the president was returned to Washington. The next day, officials at the White House and the Justice Department explained that President Bush did this because there was "specific and credible information that the White House and Air Force One were also intended targets."^[27] The White House later could not confirm evidence of a threat made against Air Force One, and subsequent investigation found the original claim to be a result of miscommunication.^[28]

President Barack Obama meets with staff in the conference room, 3 April 2009.

When President Bush came to the end of his second term in 2009, a VC-25 was used to transport him to Texas. For this purpose the craft was called Special Air Mission 28000, as the aircraft did not carry the current President of the United States. Similar arrangements were made for former Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.

On 27 April 2009, a low-flying VC-25 circled New York City for a photo-op and training exercise and caused a scare for many in New York.^[29] Fallout from the photo op incident led to the resignation of the director of the White House Military Office.

Future replacement

The VC-25As are expected to be replaced, as they have become less cost-effective to operate. The USAF Air Mobility Command has been charged with looking into possible replacements, including the new Boeing 747-8 and the Airbus A380.^[30] On 7 January 2009, the Air Force Materiel Command issued a new requirement for a replacement aircraft to enter service beginning in 2017.^[31] On 28 January 2009, EADS announced they would not bid on the program, leaving Boeing the sole bidder, with either their Boeing 747–8 or Boeing 787 Dreamliner being proposed.^[32][33]

Other presidential aircraft

Air Force One, the presidential state car and Secret Service Agents^[34]

United Airlines was the only commercial airline to have operated Executive One, the designation given to a civilian flight on which the U.S. President is aboard. On 26 December 1973, then-President Richard Nixon flew as a passenger aboard a Washington Dulles to Los Angeles International flight. His staff explained that this was done to conserve fuel by not having to fly the usual Boeing 707 Air Force aircraft.^[35] However, the President undertook only the outbound flight by commercial air, and used the usual Air Force craft for the return journey.^{[citation needed]}

In November 1999, President Bill Clinton flew from Ankara, Turkey, to Cengiz Topel Naval Air Station outside Izmit, Turkey, aboard a marked C-20C (Gulfstream III) using the call sign "Air Force One", escorted by three F-16s.

On 8 March 2000, President Clinton flew to Pakistan aboard an unmarked Gulfstream III while another aircraft with the call sign "Air Force One" flew on the same route a few minutes later. This diversion was reported by several U.S. press outlets.^[36][37][38]

On 1 May 2003, President George W. Bush flew in the co-pilot seat of a VS-35 S-3 Viking from NAS North Island, California to USS Abraham Lincoln off the California coast, where Bush delivered his "Mission Accomplished" speech. During the flight, the aircraft used the callsign of "Navy One" for the first time.

In May 2009, President Barack Obama took the first lady on a date to New York City in a Gulfstream 500.^[39] On 16 July 2010, the First Family flew to Maine for vacation in a Gulfstream III painted in presidential colors.^[40]

The president also flies in Marine One helicopters operated by the U.S. Marine Corps.

Air Force One aircraft on display

In 2005, President George W. Bush, First Lady Laura Bush, and former First Lady Nancy Reagan toured SAM 27000, the aircraft that served seven presidents from 1972–2001; it is now housed at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

Several presidential aircraft that have formerly served as Air Force One (Sacred Cow, Independence, Columbine III, SAM 26000, and other smaller presidential aircraft) are on display in the presidential hangar of the National Museum of the United States Air Force (located at Wright-Patterson AFB near Dayton, Ohio) and at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington (earlier VC-137B SAM 970). The Boeing 707 that served as Air Force One from the Nixon years through the George H. W. Bush administration (SAM 27000) is on display in Simi Valley, California at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. The library's Air Force One Pavilion was opened to the public on 24 October 2005.

A VC-118A Liftmaster used by John F. Kennedy is on display at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona.

See also

	United States Air Force portal
	Aviation portal

• Air Force One photo op incident
• Air Force Two
• Air transports of heads of state and government
• Boeing C-32
• Johnson Administration occasional Air Force One
• List of official vehicles of the President of the United States

References

Notes

1. ^ "Order 7110.65R (Air Traffic Control)." Federal Aviation Administration, 14 March 2007. Retrieved: 27 August 2007.
2. ^ ^{a b} Walsh 2003.
3. ^ Wallace, Chris. "Aboard Air Force One." Fox News via FoxNews.com, 24 November 2008. Retrieved: 28 November 2008.
4. ^ Hardesty 2003, pp. 31–32
5. ^ "Mayflower Of The Air Ready For President." Popular Mechanics, May 1933.
6. ^ "The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft page 364,published by Orbis Publishing Ltd ISBN 0-7607-0592-5
7. ^ Hardesty 2003, p. 38.
8. ^ Hardesty 2003, p. 39.
9. ^ ^{a b c} "Factsheet: Douglas VC-54C SACRED COW." National Museum of the United States Air Force. Retrieved: 19 October 2009.
10. ^ ^{a b c} Dorr 2002, p. l34.
11. ^ Associated Press (28 April 1959). "First of 3 Jets for President and Top Aides Is Unveiled". The New York Times: p. 3. 
12. ^ Walsh 2003, p. 60
13. ^ terHorst Albertazzie, pp. 198–201
14. ^ Walsh 2003, p. 63
15. ^ Hardesty 2003, p. 70
16. ^ Johnson, Lyndon B. (1971). The Vantage Point: Perspectives of the Presidency, 1963–1969. New York: Holt, Reinhart, & Winston. pp. 11–17. 
17. ^ Vogel, Steve (17 March 1998). "Countdown for the First Air Force One". The Washington Post: p. B1. 
18. ^ ^{a b} Thomma, Steve (20 May 1998). "Presidential Plane Heads for History; This Air Force One Served Every President Since Kennedy. A Museum is Next". The Philadelphia Inquirer: p. A14. http://articles.philly.com/1998-05-20/news/25741198_1_flying-white-house-plane-air-force-one. 
19. ^ Foley, Thomas J. (25 January 1973). "Thousands in Washington Brave Cold to say Goodbye to Johnson". The Los Angeles Times: p. A1. 
20. ^ Provence, Harry (25 January 1973). "Thousands Fill Capitol to Bid Lyndon Farewell". The Waco Tribune-Herald. 
21. ^ Johnson, Haynes; Witcover, Jules (26 January 1973). "LBJ Buried in Beloved Texas Hills". The Washington Post: p. A1. 
22. ^ Gamino, Denise (A10). "LBJ Library vigil to resemble late president's". Austin American-Statesman. 
23. ^ Hevesi, Dennis (16 August 2011). "Ralph Albertazzie, Nixon’s Pilot, Dies at 88". The New York Times: p. B16. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/17/us/politics/17albertazzie.html?_r=2&hpw=&pagewanted=print. Retrieved 17 August 2011. 
24. ^ ^{a b} Williams, Rudi. "Reagan Makes First, Last Flight in Jet He Ordered." United States Department of Defense, 10 June 2004. Retrieved: 23 June 2009.
25. ^ "Washington Post Online conversation with Kenneth Walsh on his Air Force One: A History of the Presidents and Their Planes." Washington Post, 22 May 2002. Retrieved: 18 October 2009.
26. ^ ^{a b c} "'Angel is next': The terrifying message pilot of Air Force One got as he flew President Bush on 9/11" The Daily Mail, 7 September 2011.
27. ^ "Press Briefing by Ari Fleischer." White House News releases, September 2001. Retrieved: 18 October 2009.
28. ^ Allen, Mike. "White House Drops Claim of Threat to Bush." The Washington Post, 27 September 2001, p. A08. Retrieved: 28 February 2007.
29. ^ Rao, Mythili and Ed Henry. " 'Furious' Obama orders review of NY plane flyover." cnn.com, 28 April 2009. Retrieved: 18 October 2009.
30. ^ Trimble, Stephen. "US considers Airbus A380 as Air Force One and potentially a C-5 replacement." Flight Global, 17 October 2007. Retrieved: 23 June 2009.
31. ^ Horine, Daniel. "USAF Presidential Aircraft Recapitalization (PAR) Program." USAF Materiel Command, 7 January 2007. Retrieved: 8 January 2009.
32. ^ Butler, Amy. "Boeing Only Contender for New Air Force One". AviationWeek.com, 28 January 2009. Retrieved: 23 June 2009.
33. ^ Gearan, Anne (January 23, 2009). "Air Force Searching for Air Force One Replacement". Associated Press. 
34. ^ "Homeland Security Budget-in-Brief Fiscal Year 2009." United States Department of Homeland Security, 2009. Retrieved: 31 January 2010.
35. ^ Mudd, Roger and Richard Wagner. Vanderbilt Television News Archive "President / Commercial Airline Flight." CBS News, 27 December 1973. Retrieved: 23 June 2009.
36. ^ Sammon, Bill. "Clinton uses decoy flight for security." Washington Times, 26 March 2000, p. C.1.
37. ^ Haniffa, Aziz. "Playing hide-and-seek on trip to Islamabad." India Abroad. New York: 31 March 2000, Vol. XXX, Issue 27, p. 22.
38. ^ "Clinton's trip to Asia cost at least $50 million." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 9 April 2000, p. 175 A.
39. ^ Hurt, Charles and Stefanie Cohen. "Barack Obama takes Michelle on NYC Date." nypost.com, 30 May 2009. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
40. ^ Metzler, Rebekah. "Obama arrives for MDI vacation." Portland Press Herald, 16 July 2010. Retrieved: 16 July 2010.

Bibliography

• Abbott, James A. and Elaine M. Rice. Designing Camelot: The Kennedy White House Restoration. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1998. ISBN 0-442-02532-7.
• Albertazzie, Ralph and Jerald TerHorst Flying White House: The Story of Air Force One. New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1979. ISBN 0-698-10930-9.
• Braun, David "Q&A: U.S. Presidential Jet Air Force One." National Geographic News, 29 May 2003.
• Dorr, Robert F. Air Force One. St. Paul, Minnesota: Motorbooks International, 2002. ISBN 0-7603-1055-6.
• Hardesty, Von. Air Force One: The Aircraft that Shaped the Modern Presidency. Chanhassen, Minnesota: Northword Press, 2003. ISBN 1-55971-894-3.
• Harris, Tom. "How Air Force One Works." HowStuffWorks.com. Retieved: 10 October 2006.
• Walsh, Kenneth T. Air Force One: A History of the Presidents and Their Planes. New York: Hyperion, 2003. ISBN 1-4013-0004-9}}

External links

• VC-25 – Air Force One Fact Sheet on US Air Force site
• SAM 26000 fact sheet on the National Museum of the United States Air Force site
• Presidential Gallery, featuring Boeing VC-137C known as SAM (Special Air Mission) 26000
• Air Force One page on WhiteHouse.gov
• Facts and History of 707 as Air Force One and "Where they are Now?" on 707sim.com
• Air Force One page on WhiteHouseMuseum.org
• Air Force One Pavilion on ReaganFoundation.org
• Truman Library & Museum
• US Air Force image gallery
• Boeing History of Air Force One
• Technical Order 00-105E-9, Segment 9, Chapter 7