12 Facts About Air Force One

Air Force One is the official air traffic control designated call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States.

Air Force One was no longer in office at the time, having been succeeded by William Howard Taft.

Air Force One replaced the VC-54C in 1947 with a modified C-118 Liftmaster, calling it the Independence after his Missouri hometown.

Air Force One visited 11 Asian nations, flying 22,000 miles in 19 days, about twice as fast as he could have covered that distance via one of the Columbines.

Air Force One offered Kennedy his design consultation services without charging a fee.

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Air Force One chose to expose the polished aluminum fuselage on the bottom side and used two blues – steel blue associated with the early republic and the presidency, and a more contemporary water blue to represent an America both rooted in the past and flying inexorably into the future.

However, the Air Force One crew was not informed in advance and, as a result, took evasive action including a dive.

Colonel Ralph Albertazzie, then pilot of Air Force One, recounted that after Gerald Ford was sworn in as president, the plane had to be redesignated as SAM 27000, indicating no president was on board the aircraft.

Air Force One took off on a VC-25 from Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport with Colonel Mark Tillman, the senior pilot of Air Force One that day, in charge.

Tillman explained that this was due to his concern that because of the reported threat, Air Force One would be attacked when he returned to Andrews Air Force Base.

Air Force One's staff explained that this was done to conserve fuel by not having to fly the usual Boeing 707 Air Force aircraft.

Air Force One is shown as being equipped with a one-person escape pod and parachutes for emergency use by the president of the United States in at least five films: Escape from New York, Air Force One, White House Down, Bermuda Tentacles, and Big Game.