747-8 chosen to replace air force 1
 

Reuters are reporting the decision to replace AF1 with 747-8

Air Force picks Boeing 747-8 to replace Air Force One: sources

Would you expect them to choose a magnificent Airbus?

Can't beat 4 engines ! :ok:


Good to see Obama maintaining some sort of standards in his shift.

747-8 chosen to replace air force 1
 

I thought the -8 was a donkey ? Mind you, won't be run of the mill will it. I know QR have bought 3 BBJ versions too, some private toy THAT will be

Bloomberg: "The first new Air Force One isn’t expected to be delivered until 2018, when it will be tested before entering service in fiscal 2023."

5 years of testing? Seems a little excessive considering it only has a planned 30 year lifespan.

I think there was a requirement, that AF-1 planes should be physically assembled on US soil. That was one of reasons why Airbus did not participate with its A380 in bidding.

I believe the extensive testing is because of the sophisticated electronic gear onboard.

Partly because they don't need it until 2023 (or maybe won't pay for it), but the 747-8 is selling badly, so the prod line might close ~2016.

I was thinking there probably won't be any 4 engined passenger aircraft in production in 2023 alright....

"Airforce1, descending to FL 270 due to icing"

That plane is a joke, a disgrace to modern air travel - and the president of the US of A is going to ride in one.

He probably rides in a Cadillac instead of a BMW, too.

To quote Top Gear: "In Europe the meassurements in autoconstruction are rounded to the nearest millimeter, in the US it's the nearest - foot!"


Good Luck, Mr. President...

Do you think if he asked nicely they would give Dave one of the old ones! We must be one of the only country's in the world that hasn't got a decent first jet.

I know I am too lazy but...
 

What do the Greeks, Italian & Spanish "topC" politicians get to fly on?

What a waste of U.S. taxpayer money.

With the present clown-in-chief it spews huge amounts of carbon to take him from Andrews AFB to PHNL on a regular basis. But, none of them, past, present or future, are royalty.

Err, I seem to remember that the A-380 was delayed for a significant period of time resulting from miscalculation of dimensions, CAD-CAM version screw-up (auto-construction). Lead customers were rather miffed. Do you recall that?:rolleyes:

And what makes it OK for royalty to spew huge amounts of carbon ???

That's not what Lufthansa have been saying about theirs.

I believe I also read that Cargolux find they are more efficient than promised, even without the engine performance enhancement package.

The icing issue you refer to was an engine issue :ugh::rolleyes:

Amusing to see Flight report that the 747-8 "bested the A380," even though it wasn't offered.

By that metric, the 747-8 also 'bested' the Spruce Goose, H.P.42, Cri-Cri and X-37B. :E

I/C

The US government would have gone for a Triple 7 in preference to the A380. In fact, the French could have 'bidded' till they were blue in the face, they would have had as much chance as a snowball in hell!:ugh:

Rollout in 2018, Service introduction 2021.
3 years is consistent with the current 747 Air Force One aircraft - IIRC the first one rolled out in 1986, after normal production flight testing it, was flown to Wichita were it was modified into the VC-25A configuration (executive interior, tons of communication and avionics changes, dual APU installation, Aerial Refueling, etc). Delivered to the USAF late 1989. Second airplane followed a year later.
Presumably the new 747-8 AF1 will be a similar deal - it'll roll out as a pretty much typical 747-8i but without an interior - and they'll fly it to a mod center somewhere for all the upgrades.
It probably won't be Wichita though - Boeing Wichita no longer exists :rolleyes:

Could still be Wichita... Spirit, which Boeing spun off several years ago, is still in business, likely with many of the same ex-Boeing workers.