History UsefulNotes / AirForceOne

Not the movie- that should go under ''Film/AirForceOne''.

The archetypal OfficialPresidentialTransport. "Air Force One" is actually the call-sign given to any US Air Force aircraft that the President of the United States currently happens to be onboard. This could range from anything from a T-38 Talon trainer jet (the President would be the back-seater... [[Film/IndependenceDay we hope]]) to [[Series/StargateSG1 an interstellar battle cruiser]]. If the Commander-in-Chief is on a civilian flight (which has happened once: Nixon, while President, rode on an ordinary United Air Lines flight to demonstrate confidence in the airline industry), it's "Executive One". "Marine One" for a Marine aircraft, "Navy One" for a naval aircraft (George W. Bush flew in a S-3B Viking to make his infamous 'Mission Accomplished' speech on USS ''Abraham Lincoln'' in 2003), etc. "Marine One" is also the name given to the President's helicopter- we'll discuss that here. The Vice-President has "Air Force Two" and "Marine Two," "Navy Two," and "Executive Two" (used relatively often during the presidency of UsefulNotes/GeraldFord; his Veep Nelson Rockefeller was, well, [[NonIdleRich a Rockefeller]] and had his own private jet which he preferred to use).

When the aircraft is not carrying passengers (usually for pilot training) it uses the 89th Air Wing call sign "Venus" followed by a flight number. Besides the highly recognizable VC-25As, the President has access to slightly smaller aircraft - at least four C-40Bs (modified Boeing 737, entered service in 2002) and at least four C-32s (modified Boeing 757, entered service in 1998). These normally serve as transport for the Vice President (under the callsign "Air Force Two"), but the President will use them when the VC-25A is not practical - e.g., for shorter trips, or when the destination airport can't handle such a large aircraft. With the price of fuel skyrocketing in the 2010s, the C-32s have become more common as Air Force One; the C-32 despite certain hardware deficiencies, is much less expensive to operate per-hour than the 747-based VC-25A. Additionally, there is talk of replacing the VC-25A with a derivative of the newer Boeing 747-8, although plans for when and how are not final.

Since the 1980s or 90s, Marine One never flies alone when the President is on board. Three or more identical helicopters play a ShellGame to prevent any assassin from knowing which one has the President on board. This is part of the reason why the planned replacement was so expensive, the plan called for 28 helicopters.

The pilots all have to have Yankee White background checks (the same one required to carry the "nuclear football", which is thought to contain the information needed for the President to launch SuperiorFirepower and the means to do it - but not the actual codes to allow him or her to do so).

* The Creator/DaleBrown novel "Storming Heaven" [[spoiler: Features a terrorist disguising a Boeing 747-200 as Air Force One, with the aim of crashing it into the Capitol Building. It's prevented from doing so by a HeroicSacrifice, where an F-16 pilot rams the aircraft, although considerable damage is still caused to UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC]].

* In ''Literature/BlackSunday'', POTUS arrives for the Super Bowl is what is presumably "Coast Guard One".#

%% commented out what fails to ExplainYourExamples

* In ''Literature/BlackSunday'', POTUS arrives for the Super Bowl is what is presumably "Coast Guard One".

The archetypal OfficialPresidentialTransport. "Air Force One" is actually the call-sign given to any US Air Force aircraft that the President of the United States currently happens to be onboard. This could range from anything from a T-38 Talon trainer jet (the President would be the back-seater... [[Film/IndependenceDay we hope]]) to [[Series/StargateSG1 an interstellar battle cruiser]]. If the Commander-in-Chief is on a civilian flight (which has happened once: Nixon, while President, rode on an ordinary United Air Lines flight to demonstrate confidence in the airline industry), it's "Executive One". "Marine One" for a Marine aircraft, "Navy One" for a naval aircraft, etc. "Marine One" is also the name given to the President's helicopter- we'll discuss that here. The Vice-President has "Air Force Two" and "Marine Two," "Navy Two," and "Executive Two" (used relatively often during the presidency of UsefulNotes/GeraldFord; his Veep Nelson Rockefeller was, well, [[NonIdleRich a Rockefeller]] and had his own private jet which he preferred to use).

* ''Series/MadamSecretary'''s season two premiere is touched off by a cyberattack that shuts down all communications systems on Air Force One, which due to what Liz once termed a "universal fiasco",[[note]]The President and Speaker of the House were on Air Force One, the Vice President had to have emergency gallbladder surgery, and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate had suffered brain damage from a series of mini-strokes his staff were keeping secret.[[/note]] forces her to become acting president for the day. [[spoiler:The same hacker later tries to assassinate the President of Ukraine by crashing his plane, but he's able to parachute to safety.]]

* ''Series/TheWestWing'' uses Air Force One as a setting in several episodes when the President is traveling around America or to a foreign country (such as his second campaign or the trip to China). The only episode where something goes ''wrong'' is played with comedy with a touch of LockedInARoom as the plane is forced to remain airborne for hours because a landing gear light came on.
* ''[[Literature/HIVESeries H.I.V.E.]]'': ''Dreadnought'' shows the plane captured, it is then released to plummet to the sea with the president aboard.
* ''[[Series/TwentyFour 24]]'': it's shot down in Season 4, ''[[JustPlaneWrong by an F-117A Nighthawk]]''.
** At the end of Season 5, Jack Bauer hijacks Marine One with President Logan onboard.
** Air Force Two appears in Season 6, with the Vice President in the air for safety. When the President is incapacitated, he lands to take control on the ground.
* The Literature/AlexRider novel ''Eagle Strike''.
* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'', "Yankee White". In this one, it is explicitly stated that the aircraft is only referred to as Air Force One when the President is on board. Otherwise, it has some other designation.
** Another episode "Reveille" involves Ari Haswari (yes, that one) planning to shoot down Marine One with UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush and Ariel Sharon on board.

* The Creator/DaleBrown novel "Storming Heaven" [[spoiler: Features a terrorist disguising a Boeing 747-200 as Air Force One, with the aim of crashing it into the Capitol Building. It's prevented from doing so by a HeroicSacrifice, where an F-16 pilot rams the aircraft, although considerable damage is still caused to UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC]].

* In ''VideoGame/MetalWolfChaos'', the first level has you trying to reach Air Force One... which then takes off ''[[RuleOfCool from the Washington Monument reflection pool]]''.
* ''VideoGame/PerfectDark'' has a mission set aboard Air Force One. Like the movie, it has an escape pod that the real one doesn't.
* In ''Manga/HighSchoolOfTheDead'', the President is evacuated to Air Force One, but one of the passengers or crew is infected, causing the plane to crash.
* ''Series/StargateSG1'' features an alternate reality where the Stargate program has been revealed to the world. In this reality, the President uses ''Prometheus'', Earth's first interstellar battleship, as Air Force One.
** The airplane is shot down by the Goa'uld in the alternate timeline in the episode "There But For the Grace of God".

* Both the plane and chopper are used in ''Film/ChasingLiberty''
* In ''Just Compensation'', a TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}} novel, the military-man protagonist is contacted by Air Force One in the middle of a crisis in Washington D.C., indicating that the [=UCAS=] still uses the same designation for presidential aircraft as the U.S. did.
* ''VideoGame/{{HAWX}}'' has the player [[EscortMission defending Air Force One]] after the rogue [[PrivateMilitaryContractor PMC]] Artemis attacks Washington D.C.
* Obviously featured in the Robert J. Serling novel (and subsequent TV movie) ''The President's Plane Is Missing''.
* Appears in Creator/DataEast's ''Pinball/SecretService'' pinball, under attack from a trio of Soviet MIG fighters.

* The movie ''Film/BigGame'' has Air Force One and its escort shot down by shoulder launched SAMs. The President escapes in an escape pod. The unlikeliness of such as assault defeating the countermeasures on Air Force One is mentioned, and answered with "That's the job of [[TheMole the man on the inside.]]"

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%% commented out what fails to ExplainYourExamples * ''Film/AirForceOne'' of course.

* The DaleBrown novel "Storming Heaven" [[spoiler: Features a terrorist disguising a Boeing 747-200 as Air Force One, with the aim of crashing it into the Capitol Building. It's prevented from doing so by a HeroicSacrifice, where an F-16 pilot rams the aircraft, although considerable damage is still caused to UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC]].

* In ''MetalWolfChaos'', the first level has you trying to reach Air Force One... which then takes off ''[[RuleOfCool from the Washington Monument reflection pool]]''.

* The main characters in ''MyFellowAmericans'' take a brief helicopter ride and refer to the craft as "Marine One".

* Both the plane and chopper are used in ''ChasingLiberty''
* In ''Just Compensation'', a {{Shadowrun}} novel, the military-man protagonist is contacted by Air Force One in the middle of a crisis in Washington D.C., indicating that the [=UCAS=] still uses the same designation for presidential aircraft as the U.S. did.
* ''{{HAWX}}'' has the player [[EscortMission defending Air Force One]] after the rogue [[PrivateMilitaryContractor PMC]] Artemis attacks Washington D.C.

* In ''SupermanTheMovie'', one of Air Force One's engines gets struck by lightning and is saved by crashing by Superman.

When the aircraft is not carrying passengers (usually for pilot training) it uses the 89th Air Wing call sign "Venus" followed by a flight number. Besides the highly recognizable VC-25As, the President has access to slightly smaller aircraft - at least four C-40Bs (modified Boeing 737, entered service in 2002) and at least four C-32s (modified Boeing 757, entered service in 1998). These normally serve as transport for the Vice President (under the callsign "Air Force Two"), but the President will use them when the VC-25A is not practical - e.g., for shorter trips, or when the destination airport can't handle such a large aircraft. With the price of fuel skyrocketing in the 2010s, the C-32s have become more common as Air Force One; the C-32 despite certain hardware deficiencies, is much less expensive to operate per-hour than the 747-based VC-25A.

"Air Force One" is actually the call-sign given to any US Air Force aircraft that the President of the United States currently happens to be onboard. This could range from anything from a T-38 Talon trainer jet (the President would be the back-seater... [[Film/IndependenceDay we hope]]) to [[Series/StargateSG1 an interstellar battle cruiser]]. If the Commander-in-Chief is on a civilian flight (which has happened once: Nixon, while President, rode on an ordinary United Air Lines flight to demonstrate confidence in the airline industry), it's "Executive One". "Marine One" for a Marine aircraft, "Navy One" for a naval aircraft, etc. "Marine One" is also the name given to the President's helicopter- we'll discuss that here. The Vice-President has "Air Force Two" and "Marine Two," "Navy Two," and "Executive Two" (used relatively often during the presidency of UsefulNotes/GeraldFord; his Veep Nelson Rockefeller was, well, [[NonIdleRich a Rockefeller]] and had his own private jet which he preferred to use).

%% commented out what fails to ExplainYourExamples * ''Series/TheWestWing''

* In Black Sunday, POTUS arrives for the Super Bowl is what is presumably "Coast Guard One".

* In ''Film/BlackSunday'', POTUS arrives for the Super Bowl is what is presumably "Coast Guard One".

* ''Literature/HIVESeries'': ''Dreadnought'' shows the plane captured, it is then released to plummet to the sea with the president aboard.
* ''[[Series/TwentyFour 24]]''- it's shot down in Season 4, ''[[JustPlaneWrong by an F-117A Nighthawk]]''.

* ''Film/AirForceOne'' of course.
* ''Series/TheWestWing''
* HIVE-Dreadnought shows the plane captured,it is then released to plummet to the sea with the president aboard.

* In a case of JustPlaneWrong, Rayford Steele in ''Literature/LeftBehind'' complains about being turned down as the pilot for Air Force One even though he's a ''commercial'' pilot and Air Force One, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin as the name implies]], is a military plane operated by the USAF. It is also treated as the name of a specific plane instead of being a general designation.

* The obvious inspiration for "Haven One" in the Literature/{{Honorverse}}, the specific call-sign of whichever aircraft (or, more usually, [[MilitaryScienceFiction spacecraft]]) carrying the President of the Republic of Haven. Debate continues to rage among fans as to whether "Haven One" is also a purpose-built spacecraft (or several thereof), or merely a call-sign.

* In a case of JustPlaneWrong, Rayford Steele in ''Literature/LeftBehind'' complains about being turned down as the pilot for Air Force One even though he's a ''commercial'' pilot and Air Force One, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin as the name implies]], is a military plane operated by the USAF. It treated as the name of a specific plane instead of being a general designation.

When the aircraft is not carrying passengers (usually for pilot training) it uses the 89th Air Wing call sign "Venus" followed by a flight number. Besides the highly recognizable VC-25As, the President has access to slightly smaller aircraft - at least four C-40Bs (modified Boeing 737, entered service in 2002) and at least four C-32s (modified Boeing 757, entered service in 1998). These normally serve as transport for the Vice President (under the callsign "Air Force Two"), but the President will use them when the VC-25A is not practical - e.g., for shorter trips, or when the destination airport can't handle such a large aircraft.

* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'', "Yankee White".

* It makes a brief appearance in the first ''Film/{{Transformers}}'' movie, when the small Decepticon sneaks aboard and breaks into the computers.

"Air Force One" is actually the call-sign given to any US Air Force aircraft that the President of the United States currently happens to be onboard. This could range from anything from a T-38 Talon trainer jet (the President would be the back-seater... [[Film/IndependenceDay we hope]]) to [[Series/StargateSG1 an interstellar battle cruiser]]. If the Commander-in-Chief is on a civilian flight (which has happened once: Nixon, while President, rode on an ordinary United Air Lines flight to demonstrate confidence in the airline industry), it's "Executive One". "Marine One" for a Marine aircraft, "Navy One" for a naval aircraft, etc. "Marine One" is also the name given to the President's helicopter- we'll discuss that here. The Vice-President has "Air Force Two" and "Marine Two," "Navy Two," and "Executive Two" (used relatively often during the presidency of GeraldFord; his Veep Nelson Rockefeller was, well, [[NonIdleRich a Rockefeller]] and had his own private jet which he preferred to use).

Before that, Air Force One was a Boeing 707; one of these is on display in the RonaldReagan Presidential Library, one is at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio and another is at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.

* ''TheWestWing''

** Another episode "Reveille" involves Ari Haswari (yes, that one) planning to shoot down Marine One with GeorgeWBush and Ariel Sharon on board.