How Air Force One began and what the future holds

Air Force One story began in 1933 with the Douglas Dolphin , an amphibious plane owned by the US Navy and designated the Rd. 2 .

The presidential transport was upgraded to the Boeing 314 , a PAN , an operated flying boat called the Dixie Clipper .

In 1959 , three specially built Boeing 7O7-1 twenties jet aircraft, also known as VC 137 Strata liners, were added to the Air Force's VIP transport fleet.

In 1985 , the US Air Force issued a request for proposal for two wide body aircraft with a minimum 3 engines and an unrefueled range of 6000 miles .

Two such Boeing 747 Air Force Ones have been constructed at the cost of $325 million .

The 747 -8 Intercontinentals will have a minimum range of 7730 nautical miles .

The Air Force is also looking beyond the next generation into a supersonic future.

They have proposed 3 different firms, Exosonic , Hermes and Boom, to build a super-supersonic Air Force One that can transport the President across the country in a matter of minutes, not hours.

Boom would develop a 30 seater VIP VIP transport that can fly a range of 4500 miles at a speed of Mac 2.2 .