Air Force 1 production and support
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
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Air Force 1 production and support
Presumable working on the assumption that the production line will be shut down after they are the last airframes to roll off it. Also a fast reducing commercial fleet in service at the same time it is expected in stay in service for around 30 years?
Achievable, after all kC-135s, AWACS and JSTARS have been successfully supported long after the equivalent civilian fleets are long gone - but obviously needs planning in advance.
Boeing starts work on replacing Air Force One
......"Additional modifications will be made to this contract in the future to purchase the commercial 747-8 aircraft; The Air Force said it wants to “own enough of the technical baseline to permit competition for modifications and sustainment throughout the aircraft’s planned 30-year life cycle.”...........
Boeing to Cut Production of 747s
Production already down to 0.5 a month, must be marginally productive, and with bursting order books for 777 etc the space could be much more profitably used.....
Achievable, after all kC-135s, AWACS and JSTARS have been successfully supported long after the equivalent civilian fleets are long gone - but obviously needs planning in advance.
Boeing starts work on replacing Air Force One
......"Additional modifications will be made to this contract in the future to purchase the commercial 747-8 aircraft; The Air Force said it wants to “own enough of the technical baseline to permit competition for modifications and sustainment throughout the aircraft’s planned 30-year life cycle.”...........
Boeing to Cut Production of 747s
Production already down to 0.5 a month, must be marginally productive, and with bursting order books for 777 etc the space could be much more profitably used.....
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Will there just be one Air Force One?
How many exist now? Is that just one as well?
How many exist now? Is that just one as well?
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There are 2 VC-25s in service*, there were 2 VC-137Cs as well. It's probably safe to assume there will be 2 747-8 based replacements. I don't think an official military designation (VC-??) has been announced. It could be VC-25'X' or a completely different number.
Possibly of more interest, or intrigue, is what will replace the -8s in ~30 years time. Not much has been seen or heard of Boeing's Y3 747/777 replacement other than extended 777 variants (-8X & -9X). Given a history of selecting established airframe types for Presidential transport it seems unlikely that a 'blue sky' (blended wing/body etc.) design will be chosen, and there are no large 3 or 4 jet types coming out of the USA at the moment other than the aforementioned 747-8.
A yoorpean design might be politically unacceptable, and Airbus chose not to respond the the Air Force notice as the a/c would have to be assembled Stateside.
*Air Force One being the callsign when the Pres' is on board, other USAF aircraft such as the C-20C (Gulfstream III) and C-32 (Boeing 757) have adopted the c/s on occasions where a -25 wouldn't get in and/or out of the airport in use, for example.
Interestingly there has only been one 'Navy 1', a S-3 used to transport G.W. to the Abe Lincoln in 2003.
Possibly of more interest, or intrigue, is what will replace the -8s in ~30 years time. Not much has been seen or heard of Boeing's Y3 747/777 replacement other than extended 777 variants (-8X & -9X). Given a history of selecting established airframe types for Presidential transport it seems unlikely that a 'blue sky' (blended wing/body etc.) design will be chosen, and there are no large 3 or 4 jet types coming out of the USA at the moment other than the aforementioned 747-8.
A yoorpean design might be politically unacceptable, and Airbus chose not to respond the the Air Force notice as the a/c would have to be assembled Stateside.
*Air Force One being the callsign when the Pres' is on board, other USAF aircraft such as the C-20C (Gulfstream III) and C-32 (Boeing 757) have adopted the c/s on occasions where a -25 wouldn't get in and/or out of the airport in use, for example.
Interestingly there has only been one 'Navy 1', a S-3 used to transport G.W. to the Abe Lincoln in 2003.
Last edited by Willard Whyte; 2nd Feb 2016 at 11:37.
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Thanks, WW, for that comprehensive answer. I suspected one wouldn't be enough!
Your comment about the long-term prospects is interesting. Commercial aviation seems to be favouring designs that don't obviously fit a potential AF1 requirement. A380 not an option due to size and required airport infrastructure in many places, and normal wide-body options such as 777 don't seem to offer the potential to provide the space for everything associated with the task [VIP, pax, conference space, comms].
Oh, well, not my problem!
Your comment about the long-term prospects is interesting. Commercial aviation seems to be favouring designs that don't obviously fit a potential AF1 requirement. A380 not an option due to size and required airport infrastructure in many places, and normal wide-body options such as 777 don't seem to offer the potential to provide the space for everything associated with the task [VIP, pax, conference space, comms].
Oh, well, not my problem!
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
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Well they have the 4 NEACAP E-4Bs as well. I wonder if the maintenance contract will cover them as well because...
"The E-4B airframe has a usable life of 115K hours and 30K cycles, which would be reached in 2039; the maintenance limiting point would occur some time in the 2020s."
The first VC-25 is due to arrive in 2019. With a 30 year life I wonder what will replace the E-4B and then become the next replacement.
"The E-4B airframe has a usable life of 115K hours and 30K cycles, which would be reached in 2039; the maintenance limiting point would occur some time in the 2020s."
The first VC-25 is due to arrive in 2019. With a 30 year life I wonder what will replace the E-4B and then become the next replacement.
Boeing still foresees a viable future for the 747-8F - there are a whole lotta 747 Freighters out there that are getting really long in the tooth and will need to be replaced with something (and there are not many passenger 747-400s left out there that have enough life left to make viable freighter conversions)
The 777F is proving to be quite popular, but the 747-8F can carry ~ 40% more payload, and the nose door gives greater flexibility for oversize loads.
Right now the Boeing focus is to keep the 747 line alive until the freighter market picks up enough to drive significant new orders.
A replacement or follow on E-4 could be based on a -8F airframe, and I think Boeing hopes to keep the 747 line going until at least 2030 (at an admittedly low rate - supposedly they can make it cost effective at one/month rate).
As for a new AF1 to replace the 747-8 based aircraft? That likely won't be until ~2050, I doubt any of our crystal balls are good enough to predict what passenger aircraft may be in production by mid century.
The 777F is proving to be quite popular, but the 747-8F can carry ~ 40% more payload, and the nose door gives greater flexibility for oversize loads.
Right now the Boeing focus is to keep the 747 line alive until the freighter market picks up enough to drive significant new orders.
A replacement or follow on E-4 could be based on a -8F airframe, and I think Boeing hopes to keep the 747 line going until at least 2030 (at an admittedly low rate - supposedly they can make it cost effective at one/month rate).
As for a new AF1 to replace the 747-8 based aircraft? That likely won't be until ~2050, I doubt any of our crystal balls are good enough to predict what passenger aircraft may be in production by mid century.
For those interested, there is an excellent podcast on flying Air Force 1 given by the Colonel who was in charge of the aircraft on 9/11 - its an excellent lecture as part of the US Air Force museums lecture series, many of which are superb to listen to.
http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Por...-24-153428-727
Lecture Series Podcast
http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Por...-24-153428-727
Lecture Series Podcast
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this weeks "Flight" article on the 747 notes there are 234 747 freighters in service - of these 217 are -400 models with an average age of 16 years - but the oldest is a 200F with 38 years on the clock
"although certain operators love the nose door capability of the 747, the -8F is a large aircraft to fill and more cargo users are favouring the 777F. Plus low oil prices extend the life of current -400F's..."
Their Ascend forecast in 2015 was only another 57 -8's to be built but even that is now looking optomistic.........................
"a rate of 0.5 a month is not sustainable in the long, or even medium, term"
"although certain operators love the nose door capability of the 747, the -8F is a large aircraft to fill and more cargo users are favouring the 777F. Plus low oil prices extend the life of current -400F's..."
Their Ascend forecast in 2015 was only another 57 -8's to be built but even that is now looking optomistic.........................
"a rate of 0.5 a month is not sustainable in the long, or even medium, term"
