Monday, Jan 18, 2021, 10PM Eastern, 9PM Central

2:50 preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...yTw&feature=youtu.be

Article:

https://people.com/politics/na...ir-force-one-design/

Air Force One Is Getting a Makeover: Go Inside the Manufacturing Process of the New Presidential Jets

“It was clear that the Air Force One project was something President Trump was very passionate about,” a National Geographic producer says

By Sean Neumann
December 17, 2020 01:02 PM

Very few people whose title doesn't start with "president" ever set foot inside Air Force One.

But National Geographic got a first look at the overhaul of the two presidential planes, which Donald Trump has been working on during his presidency and President-elect Joe Biden may finish during his own.

The one-hour The New Air Force One: Flying Fortress premieres Jan. 18 and is exclusively previewed above.

The inside look at the two new Air Force One planes “follows the classified mission to create the new presidential aircraft and provides an inside look at the cutting-edge engineering and technology that transforms the plane into a top-secret, highly secured command center,” according to the network.

The new Air Force Ones (a designation referring to either of two Boeing 747s while the commander-in-chief is on board) are expected to take flight in 2024, replacing the previous aircrafts that have been in use since George H. W. Bush.

Trump, 74, was interviewed for the special while aboard Air Force One.

The plane “serves as a command center because we have so military equipment and other things on — equipment that I don’t even talk about,” he said. “The new Air Force One has absolutely finer systems, state of the art.”

The president also explained how he planned to give the aircraft a new color scheme — a change from the classic Jacqueline Kennedy-approved blue nose being used now. Instead, the new plane would be painted with a white top and blue belly separated by a thin red stripe: red, white and blue.

(The political news website Axios recently reported, however, that Trump's election defeat means Biden, 78, will get the last word on the aircraft’s final design because he will be in office at the time.)

“It was clear that the Air Force One project was something President Trump was very passionate about,” National Geographic executive producer Bengt Anderson tells PEOPLE. “It was clear he has taken an active role in shaping the layout of the rooms as well as their design and, most contentiously, his desire to dramatically change the exterior livery.”

Anderson — who says “I had to pinch myself” the first time he boarded the historic plane while filming the series — says Trump “was able to share a broad view of his vision for the plane from amenities, updates and upgrades” during their interview.

“With a new administration taking the helm in the coming months, only time will tell how much of his creative input will hold,” Anderson says. “But it was clear to me that he [Trump] felt very proud to have ushered in a new generation Air Force One and that part of his legacy will shape presidential flight for decades to come.”

The planes are being constructed in San Antonio, Texas, ahead of their 2024 debut.

Co-producer Scott Bateman, who is also a 747 pilot, tells PEOPLE the experience of flying in the plane on training missions was “something I will never forget.”

“As a 747 aficionado with over 20,000 hours of military and civilian flying," Bateman says, "it was the best aviation experience I have ever had."

- end of article, Sigmund's comments follow.

The article says "The planes are being constructed in San Antonio, Texas, ahead of their 2024 debut." but I'm certain they were constructed in Seattle and are being heavily modified in San Antonino at what used to be an AF Logistic Center/Depot at Kelly Field but is now a Boeing facility:

https://www.portsanantonio.us/Boeing-San-Antonio

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sigmund,

I sometimes shoot skeet at a facility outside of Richmond, VA. Air Force One uses the Richmond Airport to practice touch and go landings. Several times I have seen that big blue and white 747 circling over us with the gear down. It always evokes a patriotic emotion to see it.

Just programmed a reminder into my phone to watch on January 18th. Should be interesting.

Bump, it's tomorrow night.

quote:

Originally posted by bigeinkcmo:
Sounds cool. If you're looking for another good aircraft documentary in the mean time, NOVA: Flying Supersonic on Amazon is quite interesting.

Caught this one on regular TV recently & enjoyed it.

I can't find this show anywhere. Not in my tv listings, not on the NatGeo website. It's like they scrubbed it altogether.

Years ago I was given, as a birthday gift, a VHS cassette of the National Geographic documentary on Air Force One at the time, which was probably close to 20 years ago. Nat Geo did an absolutely fantastic job with that documentary and I would expect this to be on the same par, if the crew was given enough access to the new planes and able to fly on them.

As various presidents have made trips here for various special events I've had the pleasure of seeing Air Force One landing/ taking off a couple times. On one occasion I had previously scoped out an area that I thought would provide a vantage point and I was able to get near enough to some of the perimeter road blocks to get a few glimpses of it. I also have an aviation handheld 2-way and was able to monitor a couple of Air Force One's airport comms.

quote:

Originally posted by Puckpilot78:
I can't find this show anywhere. Not in my tv listings, not on the NatGeo website. It's like they scrubbed it altogether.

Ruh Roh, George. I was wondering what my options were for watching this documentary as I haven't had a TV in years.

Reading the information at the attached link, it was probably scrubbed because it (Air Force One) was a pet project.

https://people.com/politics/na...ir-force-one-design/

quote:

Originally posted by Puckpilot78:
I can't find this show anywhere. Not in my tv listings, not on the NatGeo website. It's like they scrubbed it altogether.

Other have told me that, I can't explain. My local paper's weekly TV section shows it on at 9PM tonight, I've got the DVR set.

Edited to add: It was NOT on here either, I have no explanation and I apologize for posting bad info.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sigmund,

It's now showing Mon Feb 15th at 10PM, check your local listings.

National Geographic documentary on new Air Force One takes a look at design Trump helped shape

A new National Geographic documentary will take an unprecedented look at the design and building of the new Air Force One, which former President Donald Trump helped shape.

Fox News received an advanced look at the documentary, which will include an interview with Trump regarding the choices he made to redesign the decades-old look of the plane...

..."The New Air Force One: Flying Fortress" will premiere on Feb. 15 at 10 p.m. on National Geographic.

Complete article:

https://www.foxnews.com/us/nat...-air-force-one-trump

Set to record. They probably needed more time to install a Silver Alert system for when Uncle Joe gets lost onboard.

I seemed to remember that DJT squeezed a lot to get the cost of 5he project down substantially.

Wonder if it will get rung back up with PedoJoe having a say now.

The link has a few photos.

https://www.airlinereporter.co...-fortress-a-preview/

THE NEW AIR FORCE ONE: FLYING FORTRESS – A PREVIEW
BY BLAINE NICKESON

Recently, I had the opportunity to have a sneak peek at the upcoming National Geographic documentary on the new Boeing 747-8i planes that are being heavily converted to take on the role of Air Force One. While the current planes, based upon the 747-200, are maintained impeccably, they’re getting long in the tooth at over 30 years old.

This behind-the-scenes look was pure AvGeek gold, but also appeals to all audiences. My nine-year-old daughter thought it was great (and told me to say so in this review)!

The documentary provides some of the history of the current VC-25A planes, while ushering you through the background on the development of the new VC-25B jumbos. The two 747-8s that are being converted were originally built for now-bankrupt Russian airline Transaero, but the carrier never took delivery.

As an added layer of aviation goodness, the executive producer of the documentary is British Airways A350 pilot Scott Bateman, who also flew the 747. Many readers will be familiar with him, as he’s an active presence on Twitter as @scottiebateman.

A large portion of the show is filmed on board the current Air Force One while in flight. There are a handful of interview snippets with former president Trump where he boasts of all the secret military technology on the plane that he can’t tell us about. The other big chunk of the footage comes from Boeing’s facility in San Antonio, Texas, where the two 747-8s are being outfitted in a giant single hangar. The scope of the work taking place on this planes is overwhelming (and can explain why this is a $5B program).

The show also addresses one of the most controversial aspects of the new Air Force One – the livery! President Trump intended to paint the new planes in a new scheme, abandoning the familiar baby blue and white livery that is known around the world, and has adorned the president’s plane since the Kennedy era. However, right now, the planes are literally a blank canvas (they’re white tails) and the eventual decision will fall to the Biden administration.

This documentary is well worth an hour of your time. Heck, I watched it twice this week.


The New Air Force One: Flying Fortress debuts on Monday, February 15th at 10:00pm on National Geographic.

Tonight's the night.

quote:

Originally posted by Sigmund:
The show also addresses one of the most controversial aspects of the new Air Force One – the livery! President Trump intended to paint the new planes in a new scheme, abandoning the familiar baby blue and white livery that is known around the world, and has adorned the president’s plane since the Kennedy era. However, right now, the planes are literally a blank canvas (they’re white tails) and the eventual decision will fall to the Biden administration.

I'll be as unbiased about the final livery as I am about the one pictured as Trump's scheme, which I LOVE! I like it way more than the baby blue. ~Sigh~

Watched it, was a bit of a let down. Seemed to focus more on the history of AF1 then the tech and such of the replacement.