US Air Force One Replacement - President-Elect Trump's View

[West Coast]

You might not have heard, they do make other aircraft. It wouldn't look good for them as a corporation if they couldn't retain the title as manufacturer of the President's primary ride.

PS, the cargo version isn't quite as dead yet.

[Rick777]

Trump never goes cheap on anything if it's for himself. There is neither a design nor a price yet. This was all just him and his ego trying to show what a great negotiator he is. Trump claims credit for anything good and disavows blame for anything bad.

[ORAC]

As opposed to which other politician in history?

[Rick777]

Originally Posted by ORAC

As opposed to which other politician in history?

As opposed to most of them on the scale where Trump operates.

[GlobalNav]

Wright Flyer?

He needs a plane that matches his attention span - Wright Flyer?

[Kiltrash]

Sorry to drag up a old thread but on the 6 oc ITV news there was a shot of the Donald talking about the tragic events involving Harry Dunn and on the table in front of him was a model of a B747-8 in I assume the new Presidential colours. Nice looking, is it anywhere near getting off he drawing board?

[tdracer]

Originally Posted by Kiltrash

Sorry to drag up a old thread but on the 6 oc ITV news there was a shot of the Donald talking about the tragic events involving Harry Dunn and on the table in front of him was a model of a B747-8 in I assume the new Presidential colours. Nice looking, is it anywhere near getting off he drawing board?

I'm out of the loop since I retired 3 years ago, but they have had the aircraft 'on hand' since before I retired. Boeing had two 747-8 passenger white tails due to the bankruptcy of the original buyer, the USAF and Boeing agreed to used those for the new AF1 aircraft, and money had been authorized to start work.

[chopper2004]

Originally Posted by PDR1

Ummm....isn't the E-4 a 747-200 design of roughly the same era as the VC-25, and also currently being considered for replacement on obsolescence grounds? So what commonality would it have with a 747-800-based solution anyway?

PDR

I started a thread on E-4B/E-6/C-32 replacement on here in lieu of one seeing E-4B arrive at the 'Hall. Its called NEAT/

E4B/E6/C-32B replacement is a NEAT idea

Cheers

[chopper2004]

Work started on 747-8 for new AIr Force One

Work has commenced on the first airframe

https://www.airforcemag.com/first-ne...ation-process/

[Tashengurt]

Still an awful livery.

[Buster Hyman]

While the modification process does not detail the new livery of the aircraft, Pentagon budget documents and models seen at the White House show the aircraft painted red, white, and blue instead of the signature light blue and white that has been on Air Force One for decades.

Artist rendering only

[Less Hair]

I hope they keep the classic livery. That red line makes it look like North Korea.

[sandiego89]

Originally Posted by chopper2004

I started a thread on E-4B/E-6/C-32 replacement on here in lieu of one seeing E-4B arrive at the 'Hall. Its called NEAT/

E4B/E6/C-32B replacement is a NEAT idea

Cheers

Thanks for linking that thread. Some great videos of the E-4 in there- don't get to see the inside of those much. I'm sure the equipment has been much upgraded over the years, but a very 1980's looking interior.

Imagine a KC-46 based airframe would be a good E-4 and E-6 replacement- with the hardening and miles of wiring and generator capabilities.

[tdracer]

Originally Posted by sandiego89

Thanks for linking that thread. Some great videos of the E-4 in there- don't get to see the inside of those much. I'm sure the equipment has been much upgraded over the years, but a very 1980's looking interior.

Imagine a KC-46 based airframe would be a good E-4 and E-6 replacement- with the hardening and miles of wiring and generator capabilities.

While I can't elaborate for what should be obvious reasons, the (classified) briefing on the new AF1 747s I received shortly before I retired suggested a lot of expensive changes that would be of questionable value for a presidential aircraft. That suggested to me that maybe the USAF was using the AF1 to develop (and pay for) 747 upgrades that would helpful for future E-4/E-6 or even airborne laser replacement. That was also true during the 767-2C/KC-46 development - lots of stuff that wasn't directly related to the air refueling mission, presumable to provide future capabilities unrelated to the AR mission.
That being said, if the USAF wants to buy any new 747s for future capability replacement, they better get on the stick. There are currently only a handful of 747-8F freighters still to be built, if significant orders don't materialize soon, Boeing will have to pull the plug on one 747.

[Asturias56]

Aren't the "presidential" 747 ex - the Russian Transaero order and therefore are already built?

[RAFEngO74to09]

Originally Posted by Asturias56

Aren't the "presidential" 747 ex - the Russian Transaero order and therefore are already built?

Sort of - considerable cutting up and modification required:

"For example, the two airstair doors, one forward of the wing and one behind the wing, did not come as part of the commercial airliner configuration, according to USAF acquisition documents released in July 2018. The retractable airstairs are to allow the aircraft to emplane passengers and crew without needing to rely on ground-based staircases."

"The commercial 747-8s have been stripped of many of its typical components as well, says the USAF."

“Boeing prepared the two aircraft for modification start by removing the commercial interiors, engines, auxiliary power units, and numerous secondary system components,” says the service. “Additionally, Boeing placed a sophisticated jacking and crib mechanism under each aircraft to reduce structural stress for the initial modification phases.”

https://www.flightglobal.com/fixed-w...137197.article

Comparison 747-200 vs 747-8

https://www.boeing.com/defense/air-force-one/index.page

[Asturias56]

Are they fitting Huawei 5G???

[tdracer]

Originally Posted by RAFEngO74to09

Sort of - considerable cutting up and modification required:

"For example, the two airstair doors, one forward of the wing and one behind the wing, did not come as part of the commercial airliner configuration, according to USAF acquisition documents released in July 2018. The retractable airstairs are to allow the aircraft to emplane passengers and crew without needing to rely on ground-based staircases."

This is basically what was done for the current VC-25 aircraft. They were built as baseline 747-200 aircraft, then flown to Wichita where they were rebuilt into the AF1 configuration. However the systems changes planned for the 747-8 are quite a bit more involved than what was done for the 747-200 (which, BTW, went way over budget, allegedly making them - at the time - the two most expensive aircraft ever built, with Boeing eating most of that on a fixed price contract).

The airstair setup was seriously cool - I remember watching it being deployed once and it was fascinating (I only remember one - forward of the wing - although there may have been another aft that I simply never noticed or used). The airstairs went from the cargo deck to the ground - with a separate staircase leading from the main deck to the cargo deck. I'm guessing they are using the same basic setup and not re-inventing the wheel, but I could be wrong...

[Asturias56]

This might be cheaper....... certainly less stylish..............

[Asturias56]

Didn't one of the Saudi Royal Family 747's have a lift that came out of the bottom the fuselage down to the runway for the then King who had serious health issues?