The jet transport age got underway in
earnest in 1954 when the Boeing 707 prototype (“Dash 80”) maid its
maiden flight from Renton Field in Seattle. This was the culmination
of a multi-year $16 million project, and the maiden flight coincided
with the 38th anniversary of the Boeing Company. Powered by four
Pratt & Whitney turbojets the swept-winged aircraft was the first in
more than 1,000 707 commercial transport aircraft that would be
built by Boeing through May 1991. Pan American Airways inaugurated
trans-Atlantic jet service, utilizing the Boeing 707, in October of
1958. Some variants of the 707 were introduced, including the
707-320 for long distance intercontinental service, and the 720
series that was lighter and faster and could operate in and out of
shorter length runways. The KC/C-135 tanker and transport aircraft
were based on the 707. More than 800 of these aircraft were built
during a long production run. The 707 became the first jet aircraft
utilized for Presidential transport and served in that capacity
until 1990 when two 747-200s replaced the 707s. The history of Air
Force One dates to 1944 when a C-54 was put into operational service
for flying President Franklin Roosevelt. Nicknamed the “Sacred Cow,”
this C-54 was the first Air Force One. Later, Harry Truman would fly
in a DC-6 nicknamed “Independence.” Dwight Eisenhower utilized two
prop driven aircraft nicknamed “Columbine I” and “Columbine II.”
President Kennedy became the first jet age President when his VC-137
(Boeing 707) went into service. It was Kennedy’s aircraft that
popularized the term “Air Force One.” In 1962, a C-137C, with the
tail number 26000 went into service. It is perhaps the best-known
and most historically significant presidential aircraft. It carried
President Kennedy to Dallas on November 22, 1963, and while
returning his body, following the assassination, was the site for
the swearing in of Lyndon Johnson as President. This same aircraft
flew LBJ’s body back to Texas for burial following his state funeral
in January of 1973. In 1972 President Nixon made historically
significant trips to the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of
China in this aircraft. Tail number 26000 was relegated to a lesser
role in the Air Mobility Command and was not fully retired from
service until 1998. She is on display at the U.S. Air Force Museum
in Ohio. In Stan Stokes’ dramatic painting Air Force One makes a low
altitude pass over Mt. Rushmore.
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Collector Sized Lithograph:
$40
16" x 11 1/2"
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Giclee on Canvas:
$445
18'' x 27''
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