![]() ![]() It also featured the latest in aircraft instrumentation at the time - radar.īut rather than allow the press to name the aircraft, the presidential pilot and the president’s office opted for the name ‘Independence’, after President Truman’s hometown in Independence, Missouri. The DC-6 boasted a pressurized cabin, which meant greater comfort for passengers. But in 1947, the Douglas Aircraft Company rolled out the more modern DC-6, replacing the aging ‘Flying White House’. The 33rd US president, Harry Truman, inherited The Sacred Cow. Unfortunately, it proved to be his first and only flight aboard the first presidential aircraft as he died two months later due to a hemorrhagic stroke. The Sacred Cow’s inaugural flight took place in February 1945, when President Roosevelt attended the Yalta Conference in the Crimea. The aircraft was officially named ‘The Flying White House’ but, due its size and how it was heavily guarded, the press dubbed it the ‘Sacred Cow’. The plane was also equipped with a conference room, bullet-proof windows, a private lavatory next to the presidential seat, an electric refrigerator, and even a fold-down bed. The lift was not the only nifty feature included in the first presidential aircraft. It was placed at the rear of the aircraft so that it lifted the president straight to the entrance of his onboard office. However, this method was short-lived as the ramp’s presence easily gave away the president’s arrival or departure.Īn engineer from Douglas designed a special lift to hoist the wheelchair in and out of the aircraft. The low door made it easier for secret service agents to lift the president, who was in a wheelchair, inside the aircraft.Įventually, a large custom-made ramp had to be connected to the aircraft so Roosevelt could easily board and leave the aircraft in his wheelchair. image source: Wikimediaīut the aircraft also had a low door, which was helpful to President Franklin Roosevelt, whose legs had been permanently paralyzed in 1921, after contracting polio. It was a Consolidated C-87A liberator express, a transport version of the B-24 bomber, with a top speed of 245 mph and a range of 3,600 miles. The Sacred CowĪ modified Douglas VC-54C Skymaster was chosen to fly the US president. The president traveled on board a commercial Boeing Clipper flying boat, the Dixie Clipper, and, although the plane was not designed for presidential use, it inspired the government to create an aircraft dedicated to flying the president. Roosevelt, the fifth cousin of Theodore Roosevelt, was the first US president to travel by plane in 1943.Īt that time, Franklin Roosevelt needed to join other allied leaders, including British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, for a secret conference in Casablanca, Morocco.įranklin Roosevelt avoided sailing, the usual mode of transportation at the time, as the journey would have taken at least a week.īoeing 314 the Dixie Clipper. In a twist of fate, it was another Roosevelt who made history in terms of presidential travel.įranklin D. The first presidential flight Franklin D. That trip made Theodore Roosevelt the first US president to travel abroad while still in office. He embarked on a 17-day trip to South America aboard a 16,000-ton battleship, the USS Louisiana. In 1906, Roosevelt had to inspect work being carried out on the Panama Canal. Since travel was time-consuming, presidents rarely went overseas at the time, remaining close to the seat of power instead. Crossing the Atlantic in the early 1900s took about five days. Technically, Theodore ‘Teddy’ Roosevelt did not officially fly as president of the United States, but he was the first president to travel outside the country while still in office.ĭuring the early 20th century, train travel was the way to go, and if the president was required to leave the country, he would need to sail. ![]() Theodore Roosevelt (in office 1901 -1909) After all, it’s been almost 80 years since the first US presidential flight, and Air Force One has certainly come a long way since then.Īs we look forward to 2024, when the new Air Force One (which will reportedly cost more than $5 million) will enter service, AeroTime looks back at US presidential planes from 1943 to 1990, chronicling the evolution of one of history’s most iconic aircraft and the aircraft that preceded the iconic Boeing 747. ![]() While it’s exciting to explore the next generation of Air Force One aircraft, it’s also important to look back at how presidential aircraft have evolved through the decades. There is absolutely no doubt that Air Force One is one of the most famous and iconic aircraft in history. Blockbuster movies have been named after it. In aviation, nothing is more synonymous with ‘North America’ than #AirForceOne. ![]()
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