# Alternate plane for Air Force One **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 9, 2015, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternate-plane-for-air-force-one/719650 "2015-05-09T20:34:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2015, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternate-plane-for-air-force-one/719650/1 "2015-05-09T20:34:22Z")
I know whatever plane the president uses is Air Force one. But on this trip you can see it was not the standard 747. Maybe the airport was too small for a 747 to land? Since they have two 747s I don’t think they were both down for repairs. I think this is a 757 . [http://www.keloland.com/newsdetail.cfm/little-girl-meets-obama-after-writing-him-a-letter/?id=179785](http://www.keloland.com/newsdetail.cfm/little-girl-meets-obama-after-writing-him-a-letter/?id=179785) Plane shows up at 1:00 of the video. I’ve seen the first lady use the other planes and not the 747. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2015, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternate-plane-for-air-force-one/719650/2 "2015-05-09T20:48:46Z")
Yup, it’s a [Boeing C-32](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_C-32), which is the military version of a 757. As noted in the article (and also briefly in the [Air Force One](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Force_One) article), the President occasionally uses the smaller plane when circumstances require. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2015, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternate-plane-for-air-force-one/719650/3 "2015-05-09T20:53:40Z")
He used the plane normally known as Air Force Two for this trip which is a Boeing C-32. The C-32 is indeed a modified version of a 757. I don’t believe South Dakota has many runways that can accommodate the usual 747 Air Force One aircraft so they had to go with the Vice President’s plane. The Wikipedia article on Air Force Two notes that the same change of aircraft was also done for a 2002 trip to South Dakota for the same reasons. > **[Air Force Two](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Force_Two)** > > Air Force Two is the air traffic control designated call sign held by any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the U.S. vice president, but not the president. The term is often associated with the Boeing C-32, a modified 757 which is most commonly used as the vice president's transport. Other 89th Airlift Wing aircraft, such as the Boeing C-40 Clipper, C-20B, C-37A, and C-37B, have also served in this role. The VC-25A, the aircraft most often used by the president as Air Force One, Richar... ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternate-plane-for-air-force-one/719650/4 "2015-05-10T23:10:49Z")
I assume the smaller plane flies all the way from DC? They could take the 747 to a nearby place and switch planes but that seems like a waste of money. The only issue is I think the 747 has more defensive stuff on it . ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2015, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternate-plane-for-air-force-one/719650/5 "2015-05-11T20:27:40Z")
Not long after his inauguration, President Obama fulfilled a promise to the First Lady during the campaign and took her to New York for a dinner and a Broadway show. For the trip, as [Bloomberg reported](http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aTKqE4Ud3x50&refer=home): "The first couple flew in a military Gulfstream V, a smaller plane than the Boeing 747 that he usually takes. “It’s more efficient,” said [White House spokesman Josh] Earnest, explaining that the fuel costs for the 45-minute flight would be lower. "