FIRST - Presidential Jet Plane in the United States
N 47° 31.192 W 122° 18.011
10T E 552685 N 5263174
One of many static aircraft displays located at the Museum of Flight at King County International Airport and was the first presidential jet plane made during President Eisenhower's administration in 1959. Admission fees apply.
Waymark Code: WMVHHX
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 04/21/2017
Views: 7
Located at the Museum of Flight are a large number of static aircraft on display. One of them is a Boeing VC-137B, known as "Air Force One" and the first presidential jet plane made during President Eisenhower's administration. The Museum of Flight website contains a
page devoted to this aircraft and it reads:
The Flying Oval Office
The first presidential jet plane, a specially built Boeing 707-120, is known as SAM (Special Air Missions) 970. This aircraft, as well as any other Air Force aircraft, carried the call sign "Air Force One" when the president was aboard. Delivered in 1959 to replace Eisenhower's Super-Constellation, the high-speed jet transport is a flying Oval Office with a modified interior and sophisticated communication equipment.
Jet technology gave a president the opportunity to meet face-to-face with world leaders easily. SAM 970 has carried presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon as well as VIPs such as Nikita Khrushchev and Henry Kissinger.
By 1962, SAM 970 was replaced by a newer Boeing VC-137C. But SAM 970 remained in the presidential fleet ferrying VIPs and the Vice-President until June of 1996.
This aircraft is on loan from the National Museum of the United States Air Force.
A nearby placard also highlights this 'first' for the U.S. Presidency.
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