Lyndon Johnson was sworn in on board, and the plane transported John F. Kennedy’s body from Texas.
SAM 26000 is housed at the National Museum of the US Air Force, where visitors can walk through it.
«If history itself had wings, it would probably be this aircraft,» Vice President Al Gore said of the SAM 26000 Air Force One plane upon its retirement in 1998.
The first Air Force jet designed and built specifically for US presidents, SAM 26000 (pronounced two six thousand) carried eight presidents between 1962 and 1998 — every leader from John F. Kennedy to Bill Clinton.
After 13,000 flying hours over 36 years of service, the plane was retired to the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, where it remains on display.
I visited the museum in August and walked through the historic aircraft. Take a look inside.
The Boeing VC-137C was a customized and modified version of a civilian 707-320B airliner. It was powered by four Pratt & Whitney TF33 engines, each with 18,000 pounds of thrust.
First lady Jacqueline Kennedy chose the plane’s blue and white paint colors in coordination with industrial designer Raymond Loewy.