{"id":6918,"date":"2026-05-13T20:48:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T20:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rjbarrett.redirectme.net\/?p=6918"},"modified":"2026-05-13T20:48:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T20:48:00","slug":"how-air-force-one-has-changed-through-the-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rjbarrett.redirectme.net\/?p=6918","title":{"rendered":"How Air Force One has changed through the years"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Nicknamed the “flying Oval Office,” Air Force One has long functioned as the president’s flying command center, office, and private quarters.<\/p>\n

Since the mid-20th century, US presidents have flown on special planes designated “Air Force One” while carrying out their official duties.<\/p>\n

The modern Air Force One is equipped with everything the president might need, including office spaces, two kitchens, a stateroom with sleeping quarters, and a fully functional operating room.<\/p>\n

A new Air Force One jet, a Boeing 747-8 donated by the Qatari royal family and accepted by President Donald Trump in May 2025, could bring a new level of luxury to the presidential plane.<\/p>\n

Trump embarked on a trip to China this week, accompanied on Air Force One by business leaders including Elon Musk and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. The presidential plane landed in Beijing on Wednesday, marking Trump’s first visit to China since his first term in 2017.<\/p>\n

Here’s how the design of Air Force One has changed through the years.<\/p>\n

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Before presidents traveled on jet planes, the first-ever aircraft built for US presidents was a Douglas VC-54C Skymaster.<\/h2>\n
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\n \"The<\/p>\n

\n The Douglas VC-54C, known as “Sacred Cow.”<\/span>
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\n Museum of Flight Foundation\/Corbis via Getty Images<\/span> <\/span>
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Nicknamed “Sacred Cow,” the aircraft operated from 1944 to 1961, flying Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman.<\/p>\n

It featured an elevator shaft for Roosevelt’s wheelchair, an executive conference room with a bulletproof window, and an electric refrigerator, which was a rare luxury for planes built in the 1940s.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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President Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first president to travel on a jet aircraft in 1959.<\/h2>\n
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\n \"Air<\/p>\n

\n Air Force One taking off.<\/span>
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\n Terry Fincher\/Mirrorpix\/Getty Images<\/span> <\/span>
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Eisenhower’s Boeing 707 Stratoliner, nicknamed “Queenie,” featured a section for telecommunications, room for 40 passengers, a conference area, and a stateroom.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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President John F. Kennedy was the first to use a jet specifically designed for the US president, known as SAM 26000.<\/h2>\n
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\n \"Pilots<\/p>\n

\n President John F. Kennedy’s pilot and copilot in Air Force One’s cockpit.<\/span>
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\n John Rous<\/span> <\/span>
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SAM 26000, a customized and modified version of a civilian 707-320B airliner, was known as a Boeing VC-137C. It included a living room, bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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Raymond Loewy and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy designed the\u00a0plane’s blue-and-white exterior.<\/h2>\n
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\n \"Jackie<\/p>\n

\n President John F. Kennedy and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy in San Antonio.<\/span>
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\n Kennedy Library Archives\/Newsmakers\/Getty Images<\/span> <\/span>
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The plane’s design featured an American flag on the tail and presidential seals on the nose.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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After Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in on board the SAM 26000 known as Air Force One.<\/h2>\n
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\n \"Lyndon<\/p>\n

\n President Lyndon Baines Johnson took the oath of office on Air Force One.<\/span>
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\n Universal History Archive\/Getty Images<\/span> <\/span>
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It marked the first and only time a presidential swearing-in ceremony took place on an airplane.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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Johnson met with Cabinet members on the presidential aircraft in 1966 in a small seating area.<\/h2>\n
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\n \"Lyndon<\/p>\n

\n President Lyndon Johnson met with Cabinet members on Air Force One.<\/span>
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\n Bettmann\/Contributor\/Getty Images<\/span> <\/span>
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The small alcove was decorated with a globe decal on the wall and curtains lining the windows.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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In 1972, Richard Nixon was the first president to use a Boeing 707 plane with the tail number 27000 as Air Force One.<\/h2>\n
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\n \"President<\/p>\n

\n President Richard Nixon aboard Air Force One.<\/span>
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\n Wally McNamee\/CORBIS\/Corbis via Getty Images<\/span> <\/span>
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Nixon stood behind the plane’s bar while meeting with military and civilian leaders en route to Vietnam.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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When President Gerald Ford took office after Nixon resigned, seats in the rear cabin were upholstered with striped fabric.<\/h2>\n
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\n \"President<\/p>\n

\n President Gerald Ford held a mini news conference aboard Air Force One.<\/span>
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\n Bettmann\/Contributor\/Getty Images<\/span> <\/span>
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Presidents would occasionally make their way back to the rear cabin to chat with reporters.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n