Air Force One

Air Force One is the air traffic control call sign of any U.S. Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States. Since 1990, the presidential fleet has consisted of two specifically configured, highly customized Boeing 747-200B series aircraft—tail numbers 28000 and 29000—with Air Force designation VC-25A. While these planes are only referred to as "Air Force One" while the president is on board, the term is commonly used to describe either of two aircraft normally used and maintained by the U.S. Air Force solely for the president.

Pop culture

Air Force One is a prominent symbol of the presidency and its power; after the White House, it is probably the most recognized Presidential institution. Air Force One has often been featured in popular culture and fiction, most notably in the 1997 action movie Air Force One, starring Harrison Ford and directed by Wolfgang Petersen. In the film, Russian terrorists hijack Air Force One and hold the President and other passengers hostage. The film was noted for its fancifully exaggerated depiction of the plane's capabilities; for example, the real Air Force One does not carry an escape capsule.

Related Topics:
White House - Popular culture - Fiction - 1997 - Action movie - Air Force One - Harrison Ford - Wolfgang Petersen - Russia - Hostage

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Air Force One has been featured in other films (Independence Day, Superman, and Escape from New York, which also featured the non-existent escape pod), books (The President's Plane is Missing), and TV series (The West Wing, 24 and NCIS).

Related Topics:
Independence Day - Superman - Escape from New York - The President's Plane is Missing - The West Wing - 24 - NCIS

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Three missions of the Nintendo 64 video game Perfect Dark involve a futuristic Air Force One, and once again featured the escape pod. The player, a secret agent, must attempt to stop the kidnapping of the President during these missions. First they have to sneak aboard the plane at an Alaskan Air Force base. Then they have to protect the President and get him to the escape pod when a aliens conspiring with NSA personnel invade the aircraft mid-flight via a troopship. After the plane crash lands on Victoria Island, the player must once again rescue the president from enemy forces, encountering portions of the aircraft, and furniture from inside it thrown from the impact, along the way.

Related Topics:
Nintendo 64 - Video game - Perfect Dark - Secret agent - NSA - Victoria Island

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In Anthony Horowitz' novel Eagle Strike, the teenage spy, Alex Rider, is trapped inside the hijacked Air Force One, providing the reader a description of the plane's interior.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The starship of Colonial President Laura Roslin in the SCI-FI channel TV series Battlestar Galactica bears the call sign Colonial One and was heavily influenced by Air Force One.

Related Topics:
Starship - SCI-FI - Battlestar Galactica

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Similarly, in the TV series Babylon 5, the President's ship bears the call sign Earth Force One. In both series, presidents take the oath of office in a scene closely modeled after the swearing in of Lyndon Johnson.

Related Topics:
Babylon 5 - Lyndon Johnson

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Further, in the film ', the chancellor of the Klingon Empire is carried on a ship called Kronos One (Kronos being the name of the Klingon homeworld).

Related Topics:
Chancellor - Klingon Empire

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A stage of the arcade game Ghost Squad has the players retake "Air Force One" from a Terrorist Group. The plane shown in the FMV's looks more like a Boeing 707 with a noticeably higher fuselage profile or the Airbus Beluga than the Boeing 747.

Related Topics:
Ghost Squad - Boeing 707 - Airbus Beluga - Boeing 747

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~