Air Force One is the official air traffic control -designated call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. The term is commonly used to denote U. Air Force aircraft modified and used to transport the president, and as a metonym for the primary presidential aircraft, VC , although it can be used to refer to any Air Force aircraft the president travels on. The idea of designating specific military aircraft to transport the president arose during World War II when military advisors in the War Department were concerned about the risk of using commercial airlines for presidential travel.
In , a C Skymaster was converted for use as the first purpose-built presidential aircraft. Eisenhower entered the same airspace as a commercial airline flight using the same flight number. Since , the presidential fleet has consisted of two highly customized Boeing B VCA aircraft. From time to time, presidents have invited other world leaders to travel with them on Air Force One.
West Coast aboard the aircraft. Louis , Missouri. He was no longer in office at the time, having been succeeded by William Howard Taft. The record-making occasion was a brief overflight of the crowd at a county fair but was nonetheless the beginning of presidential air travel. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first president to fly in an aircraft while in office. The first aircraft obtained specifically for presidential travel was a Douglas Dolphin amphibian modified with luxury upholstery for four passengers and a small separate sleeping compartment.
In , Roosevelt traveled to the Casablanca Conference in Morocco on the Dixie Clipper , a Pan Am-crewed Boeing flying boat , on a flight that covered 5, miles 8, km in three legs. Concerned about relying upon commercial airlines to transport the president, officials of the United States Army Air Forces , the predecessor of the US Air Force, ordered the conversion of a military aircraft to accommodate the special needs of the commander-in-chief.
Roosevelt on international trips. But after a review of the C's controversial safety record, the Secret Service flatly refused to approve the aircraft for presidential carriage. The C, a derivative of the Consolidated B Liberator bomber, also carried more militaristic associations than aircraft designed for transport.
