No matter where in the world the President travels, if he flies in an Air Force jet, the plane is called Air Force One. Air Force One is the call sign of any Air Force aircraft carries the President. In practice, however, Air Force One is used to refer to one of two highly customized Boeing 747 aircraft. The Air Force name for the airplane is VC-25A. Air Force One is one of the most famous symbols of the presidency, spawning countless references not just in American culture but also across the world.
It’s fascinating with it’s ability of refueling midair, Air Force One has unlimited range and can carry the President wherever he needs to travel. The on board electronics are hardened to protect against an electromagnetic pulsation, and Air Force One is equipped with advanced secure communications equipment, allowing the aircraft to function as a mobile command center in the event of an attack on the United States. With 4,000 square feet of floor space on three levels, including an extensive suite for the President that features a large office, lavatory, and conference room. Air Force One includes a medical suite that can function as an operating room, and a doctor is permanently on board. The plane’s two food preparation galleys can feed 100 people at a time. It also has quarters for those who accompany the President. Which including senior advisors, Secret Service officers, traveling press, and other guests. Several cargo planes typically fly ahead of Air Force One to provide the President with services needed in remote locations.
Air Force One is maintained and operated by the Presidential Airlift Group, part of the White House Military Office. The Airlift Group was founded in 1944 as the Presidential Pilot Office at the direction of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. For the next 20 years, various propeller driven aircraft served the President. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy became the first President to fly in his own jet aircraft, a modified Boeing 707. Over the years, several other jet aircraft have been used, with the first of the current aircraft being delivered in 1990. President George H. W. Bush decision to have this modified for the times. I myself think it’s a magnificent symbolic “air building” if you ask me.
The first time I ever saw a Boeing 707 was as a kid when my father took me on the tarmac in Gander, Newfoundland. As at that time Pan Am Company was still in existence and to see the size of this aircraft was something, which was mesmerizing to the eyes of the beholder. There is no other leader within the world that travels on such an astonishing machine of the air as such. It still does stand for something much like other symbolic things within the United States.
For I see it as a large eagle – when it lands it’s something that stands for a country that still is and it tends to leave one breathless while in the sky and to anyone that has ever seen it from near or far. Inscribed with the word "United States of America," the American flag, and the Seal of the President of the United States, it is an undeniable presence wherever it take to the air.
There are some of the most interesting things which have a cultural as well as symbolic value. The Statue of Liberty is probably one of my favorites and this would certainly
be my second.
~ For it Flys Like an Eagle ~
That plane is way too fancy if you ask me.
ReplyDeletePerhaps, yet look at the Queen of England and I think that Bush Sr. was right with this one.
ReplyDeleteSome how this doubled up in the post but I do see it as something that does represent something.
What that something is only within the eyes of the beholder. Nancy I do know what you mean.
As within these times on would think that a leader should fly simpler - but I myself don't think so.
I think that there is merit within this. The times now are not the times of the future.