This artist’s rendering provided by the US Air Force shows the new design for the new Air Force One, chosen by President Joe Biden. , Photo Credit: AP
The US Air Force on Friday unveiled a new color scheme for Air Force One, ditching the palette chosen by Donald Trump for the presidential aircraft.
President Joe Biden is sticking with a classic blue-and-white color scheme for the jet, which is under construction while maintaining a design that dates back to John F. Kennedy’s administration six decades ago.
Former President Trump, who leaves office in January 2021, wanted a bolder red, white and blue design, and placed a scale model bearing those colors on a coffee table in the Oval Office.
Mr Trump’s design called for a deep red stripe down the middle of the plane and a dark blue underbelly.
However, the colors presented challenges for engineers, and a Friday statement from the secretary of the Air Force cited possible delays and tests to deal with “excess heat” from the deep shade of blue.
The new Air Force One aircraft would instead be similar to the aging current one, although the light blue would be a “more modern tone” than the existing robin’s egg blue, and there would be no polished metal on the fuselage “because modern commercial aircraft use skin alloys”. Don’t allow it,” it said.
Replacement aircraft are estimated to be delivered in 2027 and 2028, so the winner of the 2024 election will be the first to fly in the new jet.
Boeing planes are not like commercial airliners. Each includes high-tech communication facilities, a medical bay and a self-defense system.
The current Air Force One aircraft face rising maintenance costs and use parts that are rapidly becoming obsolete, but will be sufficient until the new aircraft are delivered, the statement said.