Today, the Boeing VC-25, a military version of the Boeing 747, is synonymous with the Air Force One. However, it was not always the Queen of The Skies who fulfilled this role. Many people are also aware of another Boeing aircraft that preceded the jumbo. Yet it was actually a Lockheed model that first got this special call sign. Let’s look at the plane.
The very first
When President Dwight D. Eisenhower flew with a Lockheed VC-121A-LO constellation in the early 1950s, the aircraft would eventually be called Air Force One, and was the first aircraft to use this call sign. This moniker was established after an incident in 1953 when Eastern Airlines 8610 cross roads with air force 8610. The latter aircraft carried the sitting president.
More commonly known as Columbine II, the Constellation Lockheed model number 749-79-36 held. It rolled out Lockheed’s Burbank meeting on 22 December 1948 and is entitled to Lockheed to assist with the Lockheed Air Service International maintenance facility in Keflavík, Iceland.
Humble beginning
The plane was then purchased by the air force. After that, Eisenhower hit the air around the world with it.
‘Eisenhower uses the plane for a trip to Korea shortly after he was elected president in November 1952, and the following year the plane is converted into a GDP transport for him. The transformation of the aircraft included the installation of a mahogany desk that contained buttons to activate a telephone that could connect to the airport terminal’s landlines, ‘Air & Space Magazine shares.
‘Unlike today’s Air Force One, a modified Boeing 747, the Constellation could not hold all of the president’s staff plus a swarm of reporters. The cabin of Columbine II had barely 16 seats. And because the aircraft flew before the era of digital automation, the flight crew held a number of more positions than the crew of today: radio operator, flight engineer and navigator, in addition to pilot and co-pilot.
Time to take off
By November 1954, Eisenhower had upgraded the used unit to a Lockheed’s Super Constellation. Therefore, Columbine II is the only Air Force One to serve a single president. It is also the only presidential aircraft sold to a private party.
” A year later, the plane was transferred to Pan American World Airways two years before returning to the Air Force. “In 1968 he retired and was stored at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona and sold to a private owner by auction two years later,” shares The Museum of Flight.
“By 2003, when the owner could not find a buyer for Columbine II, the plane was sent to a boneyard at Marana Regional Airport near Tucson.
A new era
By the end of the fifties, the world entered the radiance. Next, the White House had to keep up with the times. By the end of Eisenhower’s second term, the Air Force had added the first of three modified Boeing 707-120s (VC-137s) to its fleet. These aircraft were designated SAM (Special Air Missions) 970, 971 and 972.
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The White House shares that in 1962, President John F. Kennedy became the first commander-in-chief to fly an airplane built specifically for presidential use. VC-137C SAM 26000 was the first of two Boeing VC-137C air force aircraft specifically set up and maintained for the use of the Head of State. It undertook its first flight on August 10, 1962, and was officially designated Air Force One when the president was on board. The jet was the first to be earmarked for the president from day one.
SAM 26000 was replaced at the end of 1972 by another VC-137, SAM 27000. As a result, the Boeing 707 held the title of Air Force One until 1990. After that, the Boeing 747 was at the wheel. The Queen will continue her role for a few years amid the 747-8 that meet the following requirements.
The post remains
U.S. officials even plan for future decades when it comes to the aircraft that play the role of Air Force One. The air force even awarded contracts to businesses to explore concepts around supersonic presidential transportation. The vehicles that handle executive aviation have come a long way since the humble days of Columbine II. This aircraft was purchased and moved in March 2016 from Arizona to Bridgewater, Virginia, where it is undergoing repairs.
Altogether, Columbine II could be a shadow of the subsequent presidential jets in terms of technological capabilities. For his time, however, he fulfilled his role well. Air travel became more prominent and the requirements of world leaders changed in the 1960s. It was therefore natural that heads of state would have their own aircraft customized.
What are your thoughts on the original Air Force One aircraft? What do you make of the future aircraft that will have to be taken into account in the coming years? Let us know what you think of the history and future of presidential travels in the comments section.