His term will be over before they can finish. Then it all has to be removed. Meanwhile, he has to use AF1 anyway.
Eventually, AF1 still needs to be replaced.
What about that 757, Trump Force One? I suspect he won’t use AF1 because his plane is more to his liking.
Historical tidbit…
The term “Air Force One” did not come about until 1953. That year, an Eastern Airlines, Flight 8610, was flying in the same airspace as Air Force 8610, the plane carrying President Eisenhower. Eastern 8610 - Air Force 8610 was too similar and confusion could result. To avoid any future call sign confusion, the presidential plane would be referred to as “Air Force One” from then on.
ETA: He’s the POTUS. He can fly in a Cessna if he chooses and give the Secret Service guards coronaries. Security for Trump Force One, How about 2 F-16s along side. It would work.
Moderator Note
JRDelirious, let’s refrain from political jabs in GQ. And Leo Bloom, let’s refrain from junior modding. If you have a problem with a post, report it, don’t address it yourself. No warnings issued.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
When it comes to POTUS flying somewhere the cost of the a/c that he/she flies on is just part of the cost. There are several other a/c that also travel wherever POTUS goes.
And Trump would be felony stupid to fly on anything other than AF1. The possibility of a terrorist taking out Executive One w/ a SAM is a very real threat.
A fighter escort would be a fine defense against an airborne attack, but could do nothing to fend off a surface-launched missile targeting AF1 (other than attacking the launch site after the damage has already been done). A comprehensive defense requires that countermeasures (flares, chaff, EW systems) be installed directly on the target aircraft.
Jesus what a nightmare for the Secret Service. Not to speak of the entire military command and control plans.
I presume the other travellers were not the usual commercial passengers and tourists.
Nor can I see Joe Airliner Pilot given command.
Things were a bit less formal back then. I think Reagan was the first POTUS to receive the sort of “fuck you guys we’re going to protect him” sort of security we take for granted today.
It was a regularly scheduled commercial flight - United DC-10, IAD-LAX.
From a Time Magazine article:
In the biz, this kind of comm gear is called a Type 1 product. This designation means that the hardware and encryption technique has been evaluated by NSA and deemed robust enough to obscure classified traffic. The device itself is a CCI or controlled cryptographic item. If the CCI has a key filled, it is holds the same level of classification as that key.
They pop up from time to time in my radio hobby community but I’m not aware of any arrests. However, CCI gear cannot be legally sold or surplused and is subject to seizure with questioning by Federal law enforcement. My understanding is that this isn’t handled as a breach of national security for a classified materials leak. It is more recovery of stolen or, more likely, improperly surplused/DRMO’d equipment.
Never directly answered this one.
Can’t address funding, except that as far as I know it’s obligated (federally budgeted) Department of the Air Force funding.
The actual acquiring agency is almost certainly Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC)'s Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC). They tend to be the ones to buy most Air Force mission systems, including the aircraft in the Air Force inventory. Probably the Air Force Mobility Programs Program Office, per the biography of the current Senior Executive Service (SES) leader of that office:
Emphasis added. The Presidential Transport mission is pretty much the canonical definition of the “VIP and Special Duty” category.
I believe the later 747-200s had most of the improvements of the 747-300 except the stretched upper deck, which meant that they had a little more range since they were slightly lighter.
Given that Trump has already demonstrated that he cares very little for the opinions of “experts”, I can see a confrontation occurring very early on in his administration where he refuses to use AF-1 for some reason.
So if he does fly on his own plane on official business can he make the US government reimburse him for hiring his own plane?
I was working at Boeing in Wichita at the time the current planes were being fitted out. Here they fitted the ‘mundane’ stuff such as oxygen systems, galleys, furniture, etc. They were still in their bright green primer color we called them the flying pickles. One of the stories I heard was that one day the workers were going to be installing a very expensive custom wooden desk. Being good union workers that they were, when the lunch horn sounded they stopped work and went to lunch. Leaving the expensive bit of furniture out in the rain to get ruined.
Sounds apocryphal. I doubt any expensive desk would be damaged by an hour’s worth of rain. A desk is quite likely to have liquids such as coffee spilled on it occasionally. If it can stand that, it can stand a little rain.
Interesting trivia: Nixon was in flight at the exact moment that Ford took over as president. His plane took off as Air Force One, but not when it landed.
I wonder if the reverse could happen. If LBJ had been in flight at the moment Kennedy died, would his plane have instantly become Air Force One?
Umm, I don’t think the alarming part is whether the desk was damaged or not, what should be alarming is the worker attitude. :eek::dubious:
From a logistics and maintenance perspective, wouldn’t it be better for the new Air Force One to be Boeing’s newcoming 777X airilner? That airliner will be in production for decades, whereas the 747 is going to be phased out from service around the world in upcoming decades. Unless that Boeing 747-8 really has longterm staying power and airlines suddenly love it.
Should we be bothered by worker attitude in an apocryphal story?
The thing that tells me this is an apocryphal story is why the desk is outside. All this finishing fitment work to the airplane takes place inside a hangar. The warehouse where parts are stored is indoors also.
So why was this expensive piece of equipment stored outside, even temporarily?
So somebody can tell a story; that’s why.
Maybe the lunch bell rang as it was being transported from storage to assembly.
Yes, that would be better from that perspective.
OTO, USAF is still supporting the KC-135 50 years after the last close commercial equivalent (707/720) was built. So that factor is clearly not decisive. Especially not in a few aircraft fleet where cost is essentially no object.
Countervailing issues:
Total load carrying capacity of the 747-8 is greater. Given air refueling, the 777X series’ greater range is not a useful offset. Cubic feet of interior, including cargo areas, and weight lifting capacity are key to the presidential mission.
777X won’t be available for another 2-4 years. However long it’ll take to get the first presidential 747-8 flying, it’d be that much longer for the presidential 777X. Which may be a bridge too far in supporting the current aging 747s.
National ego: It’s got to be THE biggest, not merely big. Do not underestimate this issue. Note I bring this up while Obama is President, not Trump.
ETOPS: Despite all the airliner experience with two-engine long-range flight, including the occasional long range one-engine flight, this is the President we’re talking about.
At the extreme limit, a 747 can make an emergency getaway on three engines with one engine unable to start. A twin can’t.
For whatever reasons, sound and unsound, belt and suspenders just isn’t good enough for the President; there need to be 7 sets of each. 4 engines > 2 engines may well be the major determiner in this whole tradeoff space.