It seems the first Air Force One has been found and is in the process of being restored near Tucson, Arizona. It's a Lockheed Constellation, "Columbine II," used by President Eisenhower.

You may wonder if there was a "Columbine" that preceded this plane. Yes, there was. The first Columbine was used by Eisenhower when he was the commanding general of NATO. It resides at the Pima Air and Space Museum, just south of Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson. It's nearly identical to Columbine II. Here is a picture I took of that aircraft:



And here is a video of Columbine II, the first Air Force One. I thought you might enjoy seeing it.

John

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehwvZXVKmPU

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Very cool!!

I've been to the Hangar on base at WP AFB in Ohio that has all the presidential aircraft in it. If I recall correctly that is where SAM 26000 resides, the 707 that flew JFK home to Arlington in 1963.

I've never heard of this particular Presidential aircraft before.

Thanks for posting.

PS I've also been to DM AFB for work in the past year. Good food there in Tucson.

constellations are the nicest looking of any large plane. always did like the looks of them.

Yup. They look like they're going 300 miles per hour while sitting still.

They had the unfortunate tendency to fall out of the sky...while looking very fast!

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Witzell
"The dude abides".

That was cool! Thanks!!

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A few years I was down at Ft. Craig, which is on the Rio Grande about 120 miles South of here. They were having a big reenactment and I was in picture taking overDrive.
I hear this moan and groan to the South. I look that way, and much to my surprise there comes a Connie flying up the Rio Grande. It was flying pretty low, maybe 2,000- 3000 feet. That's the last one that I saw airborne.
I have seen the one down at the Pima Air Museum, but have not seen the other one which is located north of Tucson at The Marana Airport.

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If I remember correctly, the Constellation had engine fire problems. Which along with other factors shortened their lives as commercial airliners. Plus of course, the dawn of the jet age. It would have a longer career perhaps, except for WW II.

It flew longer as a military aircraft than as a civilian airliner.

Probably the most beautiful piston driven commercial airliner ever.

ETA: The Constellation safety record wasn't any worse than that of any other type. Most crashes were caused by pilot error, others by various mechanical failures (mostly engine fires), and a few by unexplained breakups mid air. There were a few mid air collisions with other planes, which seems to have been more common back in the 50s and 60s.

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My Flight to Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego was in a plane just like that in 1956.....Then I went into shock when I was introduced to my DI's upon arrival.....I don't need to explain that experience to any former Jar Heads...I would bet the farm they remember that experience. and shock...

My father logged many hours "boring holes in the sky" as crew chief on EC 121s, USAF version of the Connie equipped with electronic snooping gear, flying out of Otis AFB in the Mid 1950s to 1963.

Although I've never flown on one, I've been in many. Back in those days, you could take your kids out on the flight line, or into hangars anytime, with permission.

My father logged many hours "boring holes in the sky" as crew chief on EC 121s, USAF version of the Connie equipped with electronic snooping gear, flying out of Otis AFB in the Mid 1950s to 1963.

Although I've never flown on one, I've been in many. Back in those days, you could take your kids out on the flight line, or into hangars anytime, with permission.

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I've been on that plane as it's been there for quite some time and the personnel maintain it's the 1st AF1 and was last used by Johnson.
The communication equipment on board was the major thing to get my attention as it's too primative to imagine without actually seeing it.
Jim

I spent 17 1/2 hours in one in 1960 when shipping over to England from McGuire AFB. That was the longest flight in my life. If I remember correctly it was a contract flight and the airline was the Flying Tiger Airlines. Had to wait 3 days in Trenton NJ while they changed an engine before we left.

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SWCA1967 SWHF244

At least one has escaped from there. The first jet Air Force One is at the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field in Seattle.

Air Force One | The Museum of Flight

Unless my eyes deceive me, Columbine II is a Super Connie.

No matter, it's a beautiful and historically important aircraft.

In 1964, when Johnson was running for a term in his own right, I was standing by with a tape recorder when what was then Air Force One--if it wasn't the one that returned Kennedy's body from Dallas a few months before it was the exact duplicate they always used--pulled up and the ramp was wheeled out. To say the sight of that 707 gave me a shiver would be severe understatement. I was on the press line that began at the foot of the ramp. I was awed by the plane, and how really ugly Johnson was up close.

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Oh well, what the hell.

I thought Columbine was in the Air Force Museum in Riverside, Ohio (Wright-Patterson Air Force Base) but it's the Columbine III

http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/fac...eet.asp?id=568

They also have the Sacred Cow (FDR) and the Independence (Truman) as well as SAM 2600 the first Jet Air Force One

http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/exh...tial/index.asp

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OGCA SWCA NRA

Interesting. I was referring to SAM 62 6000, which I saw in Dayton in 2012:

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BruceB is correct. The VC-135B at Boeing Seattle is the original jet Air Force One. Tail number 58-6970.
Take a look at the picture of 62-6000 at Wright Pat. It clearly says VC -137C. That's a later model 707 airframe than the B model Seattle bird.
The lead numbers 62 mean construction of this bird was started in 1962. The Seattle bird is a 1958 build.
There is one more significant Connie in Arizona. It's up at the Valle Airport N of Flagstaff going up to the Grand Canyon. It was used by Douglas MacArthur , among others.

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The 'triple tail' Super G Connie was/is one of the most beautiful airplanes ever to grace the airways. My first airplane flight was aboard one from Raleigh, NC, to Atlanta, GA, in 1960 with Eastern Airlines. It remains vivid in my memories today. Thanks for posting the information about it.

I'm pretty sure this was the first Air Force One:

Like always, a very well done informative post. Thanks.

When I first hired into Lockheed in 1965 the company still owned at least one. They used it to fly workers somewhere. Herb "Fish" Salmon our chief test pilot got killed after he retired ferrying one to alaska.
Herman Salmon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I did get a couple rides in one in the late 60`s. There was a outfit I think called "Hawthorne Airlines" or "El Capitan Airline" ?? that had one I rode in. For $10s they would fly you to Hawthorne Nevada, bus you to the El Capitan Casino, feed you and give you a roll of nickles. It left in the early evening and returned in the early morning. 10 bucks week nights and $15s on weekends and holidays. They also had a DC 3 that crashed on Mt Whitney. I was to fly on that one but cancelled out when I got a called for OT. I and a GF would have got killed!
Here is a article on the crash. I commented on it towards the bottom.
Lone Pine, CA Plane Crashes On Mt. Whitney, Feb 1969 | GenDisasters ... Genealogy in Tragedy, Disasters, Fires, Floods

When I was on active duty in the late-60's, early-70's, our drill team was ferried to various air shows and expos. We toured with the Blue Angels in the summer of 1970, and their pre-"Fat Albert" C130, was a C121 Constellation. They'd pick us up at Quonset Point NAS Friday AM, stop at Lakehurst NAS, and pick up the "Chuting Stars" Navy parachute team, and then it was off to wherever we had a gig.

That plane was almost like a jet liner. It was smooth, fast, and comfortable when rigged out for passenger use.

Whenever we got to our destination, we'd have to strap in, and the "Chuting Stars" would jump from the plane. We asked them why once, and they responded that none of them like to land in an airplane.

I remember my grandparents flying out of Idlewild to Italy aboard a Constellation. Walked them right up to the stairs, 1958 I think. They had sleeper bunks as the flight was 19 hours. Great planes, better times. Joe

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Is this one still in service?
Jim

Technically a fixed-wing aircraft doesn't become Air Force One until the President actually is aboard. Until then it has a different call sign.

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Oh well, what the hell.

Connie 48-0613, the Bataan, located at Valle airport, AZ is shown online as 'flyable'.

I emailed The Connie Expert, Ralph Pettersen about the one I saw in 2004.
His best guess that it was N494TW/48-609 known as the MATS Connie. It would have been a VC-121A/L749 with overall natural aluminum finish.
There's an outside chance that I saw the Save-A-Connie L1049H N6937C. This is a Super Constellation painted in TWA colors.
Ft. Craig is located 2-3 miles from the Rio Grande. The Connie appeared to be flying directly up the river so it was a distance away.
I don't remember seeing that much red paint, so I guess I saw the MATS Connie.

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Thanks for posting this video. I enjoyed it and very informative.

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James
On the Llano Estacado

Old planes USED the air to fly and it's nice to see the lift they get at relatively slow speeds and bouncing off the wind.
Jet planes fly IN SPITE of the air and look cool like a spear or an arrow, but they don't really FLY like a prop plane.

Thanks for the post. They were beautiful planes. I flew in one from Houston to San Antonio when joining the air Force. It was my first flight. Needless to say I enjoyed it very much.They were top of the line in the 50s.

So these guys bought the plane didn't know what it was. Got ready to scrap it until they found out what it was. Restored it in 1990, flew it to various events commemorating Eisenhower’s 100th birthday in 1990, and joined a few airshows in 1991. Tried to sell it or trade with no bites then let it set again. Now it's deteriorated again and these guys are hinting for $200,000 so they can fly it again and probably try selling I again. Capitalism at it's best. Nothing wrong with that I feel but if it's getting so bad why don't they give it to the museum and wright it off for taxes'

New home for early 'Air Force One'? - AOPA

Presidential Lockheed Constellation "Columbine II" Seeks New Owner



So after a near miss is when AF1 got it's designation.

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I always thought the constellations were beautiful in the air, I went through the MAT's connie in Fayetteville Ar a few years ago at a show there, I thought H Huges designed it but he may not have. They sure do look as fast as the Concorde to me. Jeff

Kelly Johnson and some of the usual Lockheed suspects designed the Connie.
Howard Hughes claimed that he had a hand in designing it, but they did Denied it.
It's pretty will documented that Howard Hughes arrived in Las Vegas on the train. Someday I will do a thread and tell you how he left Vegas.
The MATS Connie is probably the one I saw flying here in NM.

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I started my real career as a pilot for this outfit. This particular airplane had a very unusual history that was unknown to us at the time. It had seen service with some three letter agencies.

Was a good looking plane! Do you think that the previous activities had anything to do with the airframe failure on 20 Oct 1971?
Were you inboard during that event?

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The Fam and I were vacationing just last week at Orange Beach Al. We drove 18 miles one day to Pensacola to see the Blue Angels practice. It was awesome. As I was walking out to my front row viewing I walked past several non flyable aircraft on display. There was a beautiful Connie there on display. My wife was impressed that I knew what it was way before we got up to it.
By the way, the on-site Naval museum totally blew me away.

Also, isn't "any" aircraft the POTUS is on an air force one?

V.P. aircraft air force two??

Roger

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Eph 2:8-9

That wasn't really an "airframe failure". It was a problem with a sheet metal repair that later failed resulting in some slight damage to the tail which in turn required a precautionary landing.
No I wasn't on board for that little bit of fun.
By the time we got those airplanes the super high octane fuel they required was no longer available so we couldn't use "high Blow" on the superchargers which restricted the airplane to lower altitudes, but probably made the engines last a bit longer. We only used the Connies for a few years and then moved on to bigger and better equipment.
The Connie we got from the three letter people was one of only ten built by the factory with a cargo door which was the appeal for my company, as well as the original operators. The windshields in that airplane were very small and very thick. It was like looking through one of those glass bricks.

The Naval Aviation Museum is a must see if you are in Pensacola. In fact, we're flying there in a couple of weeks and I've planned an extra day in Pensacola just to spend there.

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My first PCS assignment out of tech school was Tachikawa AB in Japan. The FAA had a Super Connie. I don't remember any details.

I worked on Autopilot systems and was told this model aircraft flew in a "Dutch Roll." My trainer said the nose would not go in a straight line, but in a corkscrew-like fashion. Don't know if this is true or not.

There's also "Marine One" when he's on board (and Marine Two, for the VP).

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Aero Commander | President Eisenhower's Executive Transportation

Factsheets : Aero Commander U-4B

Eisenhower Air Force One to become star of Houma museum | DailyComet.com

For some more Connie pictures and discussion, a previous thread, Kernel's http://smith-wessonforum.com/lounge/...plane-iii.html

Lockheed L-1049F Super Constellation Breitling "Star of Switzerland", July 2013. She's beautiful from every angle.

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