Specialized aircraft introduction
Air Force One is not a specific reference to the blue and white Boeing 747, is carrying the President of the United States of America, any U.S. Air Force aircraft, as long as the President of the United States is riding the Air Force aircraft are called Air Force One, the same, in addition to the Army One, Navy One, and other names. Currently the most commonly used by U.S. Presidents are two VC-25A aircraft, tail numbers 28000 and SAM 29000. both aircraft are modified Boeing 747-2G4B civil aircraft. Before 28000 and SAM 29000 began service in 1990, Air Force One was two Boeing 707-320B airplanes, tail numbers 26000 and 27000, which had been in service since 1958.
Air Force One mainly modified the aircraft's interiors and facilities to be more suitable for the president to travel his duties in the air, the aircraft has a lounge area, an office area, two kitchens, an operating table, a pharmacy, a communication system, telephones and televisions. Special space is also reserved for the President's family, White House staff and the press. In a state of emergency, such as a nuclear war, Air Force One could also become a military command center. It also incorporates equipment for aerial refueling and an anti-surface-to-air system.
All flights on Air Force One are part of the Air Force's military operations and are handled by the Presidential Flight Group at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. To get from the White House to Andrews Air Force Base the president generally begins with a ride on Marine One, a specialized U.S. Marine Corps helicopter. Similarly, the Army transportation that carries the president is called Army One, the Navy transportation that carries the president is called Navy One, and the civilian aircraft that carries the president is called Executive One.
The practice of calling the president's airplane "Air Force One" began during the Eisenhower presidency, primarily for security reasons. A civilian airplane with the same designation as the presidential plane happened to be in the same airspace as the presidential plane, and since then the presidential plane has had a special name to distinguish it from all other flights.
The two presidential jets are called Air Force One only when the president is on board. When President Nixon resigned in 1974 and then left Andrews Air Force Base aboard the presidential jet, the plane's code was changed to the plane's tail number, and the Air Force One moniker was only restored when the successor, President Ford, officially took over.
"Air Force One" has become a symbol of presidential power, she accompanied the U.S. President on many diplomatic missions, and witnessed many historic moments: November 22, 1963, Air Force One SAM 26000 will be President John F. Kennedy brought to Dallas, JFK, but the unfortunate assassination of Vice President Johnson was on board. Johnson was sworn in as President of the United States on Air Force One; in 1971, Air Force One accompanied President Nixon on his historic trip to Beijing and Shanghai, China; in 2004, in a highly classified state, Air Force One carried President George W. Bush Jr. to the Iraqi capital, Baghdad International Airport, to visit U.S. troops stationed in the area; in December 2010, President Barack Obama traveled on Air Force One on a surprise visit to Afghanistan to see U.S. soldiers. Afghanistan to visit U.S. soldiers.
Interior
Air Force One has 370 cubic meters of interior floor space. Except for the seat belts on all the seats, it looks more like a hotel or executive office than a jetliner. The lowest cabin is usually used as a cargo hold. Most of the passenger rooms are located in the middle cabin, while the upper cabin is mainly used for loading communications equipment.
The president has a dedicated living cabin on the plane, complete with a bedroom, bathroom, gym and office area. Most of the plane's furniture is handcrafted by skilled carpenters.
The staff gathers in a large conference room that is twice the size of the presidential dining room. Senior staff have their own office areas, and the rest have their own spaces for work and play. Accompanying journalists have separate areas for their activities. There are also plenty of rooms for the flight crew to work in. All in all, Air Force One has plenty of room for 70 passengers and 26 crew members.
Equipment
American "Air Force One" is a veritable "White House in the sky", practicing the principle of "What the president can do on the ground, he can do in the air! " principle, also known as
for the "flight of the Oval Office". There is 4,000 square meters of space on board. The president has a "presidential suite", living room with a Simmons bed, leather sofas, high-grade carpets, electric curtains, etc.; suite also has a bathroom, shower equipment, the president can comfortably enjoy. Next door to the living room is the Oval Office of the President, there is also a studio, which is equipped with the latest video equipment, projection screen, maps. There is also a special room for the first lady and a room for senior officials on the special airplane. The center section of the fuselage is a lounge for presidential aides, reporters and other staff.
"Air Force One" on the lower space there is a large dining room and two modern functions of the "air kitchen", can meet the needs of more than 100 people at the same time. There is also a medical center on board, equipped with a collapsible operating table. All the equipment in the medical center is the most advanced and cutting-edge equipment, and it can provide immediate first aid in any emergency situation, even more modern than a typical hospital emergency room.
"Air Force One" on the food collection belongs to the random mode, in order to ensure that the president's food safety, usually in the morning of the aircraft takeoff, or the night before the general supermarket to collect, to avoid the deliberate destruction of terrorists.
"Air Force One" is also the "Pentagon in the air", serving as a temporary U.S. military air command center. The aircraft is equipped with a perfect communication system, can provide the U.S. President and his aides around the world normal or classified information transmission and reception. The length of various wires on board reached 3,000 kilometers, equipped with 87 telephone lines, 10 advanced computers, a large copy machine, a fax machine, as well as 57 various types of antennas. The aircraft is equipped with air-to-air, air-to-ground function of multiple pulse frequency radio communications equipment, its main function is when "Air Force One" in the encounter with the impact of nuclear explosions or foreign radio interference, to ensure the safety of the personnel on board and the smooth operation of communications equipment.
Service
"Air Force One" aircraft is in fact two mandarin ducks aircraft, as long as the president of the main body to fly to where the spare vice aircraft to follow where. If the host mechanical failure, the president can always take the spare plane. In addition, when the President of the United States visits abroad, there is at least 1 National Intelligence Agency communications aircraft accompanied by the purpose is to monitor the possible incoming missile airwaves. In addition, there are two presidential helicopters, a number of "Hercules" military transport aircraft, as well as 10 bulletproof cars accompany. The Lincoln-branded premium bulletproof cars cost more than $500,000 each.
Strictly speaking, "Air Force One" is only a symbolic title, in the U.S. Air Force, it does not distinguish between the type of aircraft and the number of aircraft, as long as it is the current U.S. President of the aircraft, are collectively referred to as "Air Force One" (that is, as long as it is). Affiliated with the U.S. Air Force aircraft, regardless of which, as long as the current U.S. President to ride, from the moment of boarding the aircraft, the aircraft that is called "Air Force One"). Today there are more than just two Boeing 747s, but they are still called "Air Force One".
Similarly, the presidential helicopters VH-60D and VH-3D, controlled by the U.S. Marine Corps, which come and go on the front lawn of the White House every day, are known as "Marine One". The President of the United States rides in the Army aircraft, also known as "Army One", and rides in the civilian aircraft, the name of the "Executive One", but are seldom ridden. The Vice President's plane is called "Air Force Two", and in the 1950s, "Air Force One" was first used to refer to the President's plane.
Of course, this kind of equipment doesn't come cheap. The White House has a special budget to pay for Air Force One. The president of the United States visits abroad is a good opportunity to show the comprehensive strength of the United States as a superpower, to show the prestige of the United States. And "Air Force One" is a symbol, such expenses Americans feel very cost-effective.
"Air Force One" fuselage covered with thick armor can withstand the shockwave of a nuclear bomb explosion; all windows are installed on the bulletproof glass; the plane also has an automatic ejection device, in case of an emergency can be automatically activated, the president bounced to a safe place to land.
"Air Force One" also has the world's most advanced anti-missile system, the ECM electronic countermeasures system on the plane can interfere with enemy radar, confuse the missile targeting system, so that it can not lock the target. For heat-seeking missiles, "Air Force One" also has its own tricks, when such missiles come to attack, "Air Force One" can launch a large number of flares, luring heat-seeking missiles to track the bright hot flares. Therefore, it is also known as the "world's safest airplane".