Postcard from Tucson – Air Force One(s)

Recently I had occasion to re-watch the excellent film, “Thirteen Days,” which, if you have not seen it, is about the Kennedys and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Early in the film, President Kennedy flies to Connecticut for some event. You see him emerging from Air Force One waving to the assembled crowds.

I remembered that President Kennedy and Johnson’s Air Force One is here in Tucson at the Pima Air and Space Museum. I wondered if it was the same aircraft used in the film. After a little research, I discovered it was indeed the same plane. I also found out that although the film used this aircraft, it actually did not go into service until shortly after the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Never-the-less, it is an interesting airplane to tour…so very different than the luxurious Air Force One now in service. Cramped quarters, a small desk for the President, and some seats for his aids and the press. In the first photograph, you can see it right behind the smaller jet plane used to fly high ranking generals.

Also at Pima is another Air Force One, seen in the second photo. It is a Boeing 707, which, if memory serves, was used by President Nixon. This one was not available for touring at the time of my last visit.

If you ever head this way, be sure and visit this incredible museum, located right next to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. It is just filled with boy-toys.