Air Force One plays a critical role in transporting the president and his staff across the world, and over the years, the aircraft has evolved to match the everexpanding world leadership role with new livery and new aircraft.

Today we will look at Air Force One's humble beginning, its modern implementation, and what future aircraft are under consideration to fly the commander in chief.

0:00 Intro
0:41 Humble Beginnings
1:13 World War Two
1:44 First Plane
2:16 First Air Force One Jet
3:38 Boeing 747 Upgrade
4:55 Future Of Air Force One
6:38 Supersonic President

Our Air Force One story began in 1933 with the Douglas Dolphin, an amphibious plane owned by the US navy and designated the RD2. It was fitted with Luxury upholstery for four passengers and a small separate sleeping compartment. While it only had a range of 601 nautical miles (1,114 km) alas, there are no reports that any president actually flew in the plane between 1933 and 1939.

When world war two broke out, the presidential transport was upgraded to the Boeing 314, a pan am operated flying boat called the Dixie Clipper. It flew thenpresident Franklin D. Roosevelt from Washington to Casablanca, Morroco over the Atlantic on a journey over 5,500 miles (8,890 km) in three legs due to Uboats' genuine threat in the deep Atlantic during the war.

While other military aircraft were used in the years following, the first aircraft to actually hold the name Air Force One was a Lockheed VC121ALO Constellation nicknamed Columbine II. It could fly to a range of 4,700 nautical miles (8,700 km), It was used from 1962 by President Eisenhower to the beginning of the jet age.

In 1959, three specially built Boeing 707120 jet aircraft—VC137s Stratoliners were added to the airforce VIP transport fleet. The VC137s were powerful additions, flying 7,610 miles (12,247 km), could carry up to 22 VIP passengers, and act as a flying command post. They could fly twice as far in the same time as the previous Lockheed Constellations.

This three original 707s operated for president until 1962 with the purchase of the first true presidential jet. A custom made Boeing C137 Stratoliner called SAM26000 was built for $8 million. This was also the first one actually to have the famous baby blue presidential color.
SAM 26000 would be used from 1962 to 1998.

In 1985, the USAF issued a Request For Proposal for two widebody aircraft with a minimum of three engines and an unrefueled range of 6,000 miles (9,700 km). Boeing entered the contest with its 747 and McDonnell Douglas with the DC10, ordering two 747s to replace the aging 707s in use. The Boeing 747, VC25A, would be formatted to carry 26 crew members and 76 VIP passengers including the president and all their staff to a range of 6,800 nautical miles (12,600 km). This is no ordinary Boeing 747 however, it has been formatted to survive EMP attacks and act as a flying center of government.

Two such Boeing 747 Air Force Ones have been constructed at the cost of $325 million each.

From here, The Air Force has been considering several options for the next generation of Air Force One aircraft. At the time, the government wasn't opposed to looking overseas to Airbus with its Airbus A380 platform, which has about 40 percent more interior space than the 747. Although politics would have prevented anyone but American manufacture.

Another hot contender on the table was the Boeing 777X. It would have a range of 11,645 nautical miles (21566.54 km) enough to fly almost anywhere in the world.

In 2016, proposals to build a new aircraft from scratch were rejected thanks to the enormous cost, and a new plan to retrofit two 7478 Intercontinental that were never delivered to a Russian airline, were put on the table. With a few modifications of the layout and EMP protection, these planes can replace the current Boeing 747s and begin a new presidential transport generation.

The 7478 will have a minimum range of 7,730 nmi (14,320 km), although likely a lot more thanks to the smaller passenger capacity of around 100 VIP travelers and extra fuel tanks.

But the story doesn't end here though. THe airforce is also looking beyond the next generation into a supersonic future. They have proposed three different firms Exosonic, Hermes, and Boom to build a supersonic air force one that can transport the president across the country in a matter of minutes, not hours. Boom Supersonic, the current leader in the supersonic race with the only existing prototype, would develop a 30 seater VIP supersonic aircraft that can fly a range of 4,500 nautical miles (8,300 km) at a speed of mach Mach 2.2.

Although at this point, you start to wonder if the Air Force has considered other proposals like the Elon Musks spaceship earth that can reportably reach anywhere in the world in 45 minutes, although perhaps even that is a bit too far fetched for even the most powerful job in the world.