u More than just a private jet for the US president, Air Force One is a powerful symbol of the United States and an ambassador to every nation it visits. Here Air Force One is seen soaring above Mount Rushmore. PHOTO: KEN HACKMAN/
DEFENSEIMAGERY.MIL
MBLAZONED with the words “United States of America” along its fuselage and bearing an American
flag on its tail, a Boeing 747-200B known as Air Force One has become a powerful and prestigious symbol that is recognized by many people in many parts of the world. Equal parts presidential transportation, work space, and haven for the president from the pressures of leading the most powerful nation in the world, Air Force One has taken on mythic proportions and embedded itself firmly in the American consciousness. Air Force One is actually not just one plane, for when the president is aboard any US Air Force plane, that plane, by virtue of his presence, takes on the radio call sign “Air Force One.” In reality, however, Air Force One is
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usually one of two identical aircraft that are available for the president’s use. These planes are designed so that the president can arrive at his destination safely and comfortably, refreshed and ready to work repre- senting US interests.
Today, the aircraft that routinely serve as Air Force One are two Boeing 747-200Bs. When not carrying the president, the planes’ call signs are their tail codes preceded by the abbreviation “SAM,” which stands for “special air mission.” Aboard either one of these highly advanced aircraft, the president has available to him all the tools and information he needs to make informed decisions and remain in control of the government at all times during his travels. For this reason, Air Force One has been called the “Flying White House.”
Before Air Force One
Presidential travel, however, has not always been so easy. Today, the president uses Air Force One to travel around the country and around the world, but there was a time when presidents were far less mobile. Presidential travel was once so limited, in fact, that until President Theodore Roosevelt’s trip to Panama aboard a ship in 1906, no US presi- dent had ever been outside the United States while in office, and even after Roosevelt’s historic journey, presi- dents left the United States with relative infrequency. This was an era in which the American people felt that a president’s place was on American soil. But as a maverick and a risk taker, Teddy Roosevelt didn’t always do what was expected, and it is not surprising that he figures prominently
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