U.S. Air Force Museum - Airlift - Flying the President
The Lockheed C-141 Starlifter was the US Air Force’s first major jet aircraft designed to meet military standards as a troop and cargo carrier. Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin) built a total of 285 C-141s, and for more than 40 years, C-141s performed numerous airlift missions for the USAF. With its great range and high speed, the Starlifter projected American military power and humanitarian efforts rapidly across the globe.
The Starlifter originated from a 1959 requirement for a fast, strategic transport aircraft that would serve as a “work horse” for moving U.S. Army troops rapidly anywhere in the world. The C-141 made its maiden flight on December 17, 1963, and the C-141A became operational in April 1965 with the 1501st Air Transport Wing at Travis Air Force Base, Calif.
The Douglas VC-54C Skymaster is the first aircraft purpose-built to fly the President of the United States. Carrying the staff transport “VC” designation, the aircraft was officially named The Flying White House. However, the aircraft became better known by its unofficial nickname, Sacred Cow, a reference to the high security surrounding the aircraft and its special status.
In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first US president to fly in an airplane while in office when the Navy-owned, but civilian-operated Boeing 314 Clipper flying boat, Dixie Clipper, transported the president to the Casablanca Conference. Preferring that the president be flown by an Army Air Forces aircraft and crew, Gen “Hap” Arnold, Commander of the USAAF, ordered that a Consolidated C-87, a transport version of the famous B-24 bomber, be converted to fly the Commander in Chief. When the Secret Service expressed doubts about the safety of the C-87, the USAAF turned to the Douglas Aircraft Company to build a military transport specifically to accommodate the special needs of the president.
As the only VC-54C built, the aircraft was heavily modified on the assembly line. A C-54A fuselage was fitted with wings from a C-54B which offered greater fuel capacity. The unpressurized cabin included an executive conference room with a large desk and a rectangular bulletproof window. For additional comfort, a private lavatory was installed next to the president’s seat, and a fold down bed was concealed behind the sofa. An electric refrigerator in the galley added an uncommon luxury for 1945. A battery-powered elevator was installed at the rear of the aircraft which allowed President Roosevelt to board the aircraft easily while in his wheelchair.
The Sacred Cow carried President Roosevelt to the Yalta Conference in February 1945. Illustrating the high stakes associated with presidential airlift, the Sacred Cow’s serial number was changed for the flight as a special security measure. The trip to Yalta was Roosevelt’s only flight aboard the aircraft before his untimely death in April 1945.
Roosevelt’s successor, Harry S. Truman, used the aircraft extensively during the first 27 months of his administration. On July 26, 1947, President Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947 on board the Sacred Cow. This act, which became effective on Sept. 18, 1947, established the US Air Force as an independent service, making the Sacred Cow the “birthplace” of the US Air Force.
After the Sacred Cow left presidential service, the USAF continued using it for other transport duties until the airplane was finally retired in October 1961. In 1983, the Sacred Cow was transported to the museum, and staff began the monumental task of restoring the aircraft to its former glory. After ten years and more than 34,000 hours of work, the aircraft was placed on display appearing as it did during President Roosevelt’s trip to Yalta.
There wasn't much to see on the inside. A narrow aisle with racks of bunks on each side.
This was the only "room". I'm sure it was for the President.
The aircraft on display, the only Lockheed VC-121E built, served as President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s personal airplane from 1954 until he left office in January 1961. A military version of the famous Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation commercial airliner, it has a fuselage “stretched” 18 feet longer than earlier versions. With more powerful engines, greater fuel capacity and greater speed, these aircraft were popularly known as “Super Connies.”
Eisenhower named this aircraft, his third Constellation, Columbine III, after the official state flower of Colorado in honor of his wife Mamie. An adopted daughter of that state, Mrs. Eisenhower formally christened the Columbine III on Nov. 24, 1954, with a flask of water from Colorado instead of the traditional bottle of champagne. Immediately afterward, Columbine III carried the President, the First Lady and British Field Marshall Viscount “Monty” Montgomery to Augusta, Ga., for a five-day golfing vacation over the Thanksgiving holiday.
The aircraft’s most important mission took place in July 1955, when it flew Eisenhower and Secretary of State John Foster Dulles to Geneva, Switzerland, for the first peacetime summit between the leaders of the Western democracies and the Soviet leadership. Columbine III served as the president’s official aircraft for six years, and during this time it was also used by key U.S. government officials and foreign dignitaries for high-priority flights.
After President Eisenhower left office, the U.S. Air Force continued to use Columbine III as a VIP transport. The aircraft was retired from service in April 1966 and flown to the museum for permanent display.
Columbine III's interior, is finally starting to show some amentities and spaces that will eventually culminate in the "flying office" that Air Force One is now.
This U-4B, a U.S. Air Force version of the Aero Commander L-26, was used by President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1956 to 1960 for short trips. A pilot himself, President Eisenhower would often take the controls, primarily during trips between Washington, D.C., and his farm in Gettysburg, Penn. The first presidential aircraft to have only two engines, the U-4B was also the first presidential aircraft to carry the familiar blue and white paint scheme.
After President Eisenhower left office, the aircraft transported high-ranking government officials, including the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Air Force. In October 1969 it was transferred to the Air Force Academy’s skydiving team and was used as a jump plane for parachute training. The aircraft was transferred again in November 1977, to the Nebraska Civil Air Patrol.
The U-4B was obtained by the museum from a private owner in 1996 and placed on display in July 1996.
I know this airplane best from Bob Hoover and his famous airshow routine in it. He demonstrated the Shrike Commander 500S for decades in a variety of "managed energy" routines, including single-engine and engine-out aerobatics.
In 1961, the U.S. Air Force acquired six Lockheed VC-140B JetStars to transport the President of the United States, high-ranking government officials and other heads of state. The VC-140B is the military version of the famous Lockheed Model 1329 business jet, the first business jet produced in quantity for the civilian market.
The VC-140B provided fast and economical travel for several US presidents. Whenever the president was aboard, it flew under the radio call sign Air Force One. Lyndon B. Johnson used JetStars extensively during his time both as vice president and president, and because of the aircraft’s small size, he sometimes referred to them as “Air Force One Half.” The aircraft on display carried Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan a number of times, although it never served as the primary presidential aircraft.
In my mind, the JetStar is most famous as Auric Goldfinger's jet plane in the Bond flick "Goldfinger".
The Boeing VC-137C on display was the first jet aircraft built specifically for use by the President of the United States. During its 36 year flying career, it carried eight sitting presidents and countless heads of state, diplomats, dignitaries and officials on many historic journeys known as Special Air Missions (SAM).
On Oct. 10, 1962, the Boeing Co. delivered to the Air Force a highly modified civilian 707-320B airliner, serial number 62-6000. Bearing the unique call sign “SAM Two-Six-Thousand,” this aircraft illustrated the Air Force’s commitment to providing safe, reliable and comfortable air transportation for the president and other key personnel to locations anywhere around the globe. Whenever the president was onboard the aircraft, the call sign changed to “Air Force One,” a special designation established in 1953 to avoid confusion with other aircraft in flight.
At the request of President Kennedy, a new paint scheme was developed by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and famous industrial designer, Raymond Loewy. In addition to the vibrant blue and white colors, the words “United States of America” were emblazoned in tall letters along the fuselage and an American flag was placed on the tail. These distinctive markings reflect the stature of the Office of the President and serve as a highly visible symbol of American prestige.
One of the world’s most historic aircraft, SAM 26000 carried eight American presidents: Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Clinton. SAM 26000 played an important role in American presidential, political and diplomatic history, and it remains an important national symbol from the Cold War. In June 1963, SAM 26000 flew President Kennedy to West Berlin, Germany, where he declared to the world that “Ich bin ein Berliner” (“I am a Berliner”), boldly assuring continued American support in the face of communist threats and the construction of the Berlin Wall.
SAM 26000 bears an intimate connection to one of the nation’s greatest tragedies, a moment that forever altered the course of American history. On Nov. 22, 1963, President Kennedy was assassinated while traveling in a motorcade through downtown Dallas, Texas. Hours later, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as the new president aboard SAM 26000. The aircraft then carried Kennedy’s body and President Johnson back to Washington, D.C., and a grieving nation.
During the Southeast Asia War, SAM 26000 transported President Johnson to visit U.S. troops in South Vietnam. In 1970 President Nixon’s national security advisor, Dr. Henry Kissinger, traveled aboard the aircraft on 13 separate trips to secret peace talks with the North Vietnamese in Paris, France. In February 1972 SAM 26000 flew President Nixon to the People’s Republic of China on his famous “Journey for Peace,” the first visit by an American president to China. Three months later, it carried President Nixon on an unprecedented visit to the Soviet Union, where he signed two historic nuclear arms control agreements.
In December 1972 SAM 26000 became the president’s backup aircraft when the Air Force acquired another Boeing VC-137C (serial number 72-7000). However, SAM 26000 continued flying presidents, vice-presidents and other high-ranking government officials on important missions. In October 1981, it carried former Presidents Nixon, Ford and Carter to the funeral of the slain Egyptian president Anwar Sadat. In March 1983 Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom flew on SAM 26000 during her visit to the United States. When SAM 26000 left the presidential fleet in 1990, it continued to fly prominent government officials. Secretary of State James Baker flew aboard the aircraft prior to the 1991 Gulf War for talks with Iraqi leaders regarding their invasion of Kuwait.
In a nationally-televised event, the USAF retired SAM 26000 to the museum in May 1998. After 36 years of providing service and accumulating more than 13,000 flying hours, SAM 26000 began a new career, educating thousands of visitors each year about USAF presidential airlift.
I may have seen this very plane land when I was teenager and lived at Naval Air Station Moffett Field, California. It was definately a Presidential 707, although I don't know for a fact it was 26000. President Ford was giving a speech somewhere in the Bay Area -- Stanford University? -- and he flew into Moffett Field on Air Force One. A lot of people who lived on the base including me and my friends went to see. I actually got to shake President Ford's hand -- or at least touched it. It was pretty cool.
The C-20B (civilian designation Gulfstream III) provided executive airlift to thousands of senior American leaders for more than two decades. During its long service, this aircraft carried former Presidents James E. Carter, Gerald R. Ford, George H.W. Bush and William J. Clinton. It also carried presidential spouses, several secretaries of state and defense, foreign dignitaries and numerous high-ranking civilian officials and military personnel.
In the early 1980s, the C-20B was selected to replace the Air Force’s aging fleet of Lockheed VC-140 JetStar aircraft. The twin-engine C-20B was equipped with improved electrical systems and avionics packages and provided passengers with secure, worldwide communication capabilities. These versatile aircraft were used extensively to access smaller airfields which could not be serviced by larger presidential aircraft.
The C-20B on display was retired to the museum in September 2015 following almost 30 years of service.
