Gallery Update: Air Force One in Portland!!!

This was an exciting day and certainly will stand out as a plane-spotting highlight of the year for me! 

Today, I got to photograph one of the Holy Grails of aviation, the Boeing VC-25A, a modified version of the 747-200B flown by the United States Air Force exclusively for presidential transport under the "Air Force One" call-sign when the President of the United States is on board (though any Air Force aircraft can carry the call-sign when flying the sitting president).

President Joe Biden made his first presidential visit to Oregon today since winning the 2020 Presidential Election and stopped in Portland for a few hours to make a speech about infrastructure before continuing on to Seattle. And considering that the current VC-25A is slated to be retired with the VC-25B in a few years, this was an opportunity that I could not pass up! Uncharacteristically of me, I did not photograph anything else on this special spotting trip other than Air Force One.

As an aside, I know people are divided about the current President of the United States and I know some will feel inclined to make political statements, so I (unfortunately) feel inclined to state that I was only interested in seeing and photographing this iconic aircraft, regardless of who was on board. I am in no way expressing support for politicians or their respective party affiliations through my photos, as this platform is NOT the place for such matters. Otherwise, I'll let my photos from this special plane-spotting trip speak for themselves.

Portland (PDX) 70

Preview:

Air Force One on final short final for 28L!

United States Air Force Boeing VC-25A (747-2G4B) (82-8000) arriving on 28L as "Air Force One" from Joint Base Andrews, Camp Springs, Maryland near Washington D.C. I am beyond thrilled to finally photograph this iconic aircraft after years of waiting for the opportunity!

Note the reverse thrust deployed even before the nosewheel touches down.

One of two built, the VC-25A is a highly-modified version of the Boeing 747-200B. As such, this is also my first time photographing a 747-200 airframe in action (second time seeing a 747-200 overall)! 

Air Force One taxiing to the Oregon Air National Guard ramp, where VIPs and staff await to greet the President.

Although technically the "Air Force One" designation applies to the aircraft only while the president is on board, the term is commonly used to refer to the VC-25 in general. However, any U.S. Air Force aircraft can carry the call-sign when flying the president.

The VC-25A replaced the VC-137 Stratoliner, which was based off of the Boeing 707 starting in 1990.

Starting in 1985, the United States Air Force issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) to replace the VC-137, with Boeing offering their iconic 747 and McDonnell Douglas offering the DC-10. Of course, Boeing won.

Work on the VC-25A began during the Reagan administration and the airframe was completed in 1986 with the maiden flight taking place in 1987.

Former First Lady Nancy Reagan created the interior designs of the VC-25A, which is reminiscent of the American Southwest.

Air Force One turning onto the Air National Guard Ramp.

Note the antennae domes along the top of the fuselage. With the addition of special communications systems which led to problems for the aircraft's internal wiring, the VC-25A's delivery to the Air Force was delayed until 1990, during the George H.W. Bush administration.

The VC-25s are based at Andrews Air Force Base in Camp Springs, Maryland, a suburb of the Washington D.C. metro area and operated by the Presidential Airlift Group, the 89th Airlift Wing. Note the bump on the nose of the aircraft below the cockpit windows; the VC-25A is capable of aerial refueling.

In addition to the primary mission of carrying the sitting president, the VC-25 fulfills other VIP roles, including the rare occasion of carrying the Vice President under the "Air Force Two" call-sign and carrying outgoing presidents following the inauguration of the newly-elected one under the "Special Air Mission 28000" and "29000" call-signs ("SAM28000" and "SAM29000" as referred by the respective VC-25's tail number).

Another notable use of the VC-25 has been carrying deceased former presidents to Washington D.C. for their state funerals and then on to their final resting places. The bodies of Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, and George H.W. Bush were carried by the VC-25A in recent years.

The tradition of placing the caskets of former presidents in the passenger cabins of aircraft used for Air Force One missions dates back to the assassination of John F. Kennedy, when the crew refused to allow president's body to be placed in the cargo hold and again during the state funeral of Lyndon B. Johnson.

Air Force One beginning the 180 degree to turn to park. Another tradition is the president always boards and disembarks with the left side of the aircraft always facing the crowd.

The VC-25A is outfitted with a lot things, many of which is classified for national security reasons. However, it has long been known that the VC-25As carry countermeasures such as chaff and flares to protect against heat-seeking and radar-guided missiles as well as ECM to jam enemy radar. In addition, the aircraft's components are shielded from a nuclear electromagnetic pulse in the event of a nuclear attack, effectively making the it capable of serving as a military command center for the president.

The rear profile of the VC-25A.

Being nearly 40 years old, the Air Force will replace the VC-25As in a few years (hence why I'm glad I was able to photograph it today!). And to no one's surprise, the Boeing 747-8I Intercontinental was selected in 2015 to form the basis of the next Air Force One aircraft, which has since been designated as the VC-25B.

The Air Force began soliciting interest for the replacement for the VC-25A in 2009. Speculation already assumed the top two contenders would be the Boeing 747-8I and the Airbus A380 SuperJumbo.

EADS North America representing EADS and Airbus stated that they wouldn't respond to the Air Force's request, as Airbus believed that constructing two or three airplanes in the U.S. wouldn't make financial sense. Plus, it wouldn't have been a good look for a U.S. president to be flying around in a non-U.S. plane, so it had to be the Boeing 747-8I by default.

Air Force One pulling up to park.

Work on the VC-25A's replacement began in early 2020 for modification work.

The 747-8I airframes are already built and were originally slated for defunct Russian air carrier, Transaero Airlines, which went belly-up in 2015. The Air Force purchased the airframes from Boeing after they were sent out to the desert for storage; the reason for purchasing the already-built airframes was to reduce cost at the behest of former president, Donald Trump, who at the time said was an expensive.

The deal for the upcoming VC-25B program was formally finalized in early 2018.

Since then, it hasn't been all smooth-sailing for Boeing (not surprisingly) and the overall program. The VC-25B were originally scheduled to be delivered in 2024, but delays due to whole array of issues, internal conflicts, repercussions from the COVID-19 pandemic and the global supply chain issues could push back delivery to 2025 and possibly 2026.

Regardless of when the VC-25Bs get delivered, once they do, the VC-25As will (thankfully) be placed into museum displays upon retirement.

Perhaps the biggest question aviation enthusiasts have right now is whether or not the VC-25Bs will keep this currently livery adorned by the VC-25As. In 2019, President Trump announced plans to revamp the VC-25 livery from the traditional white and ultramarine shades (reminiscent of the Kennedy era) designed by Raymond Loewy to one of red, white, and blue.

Air Force One parked on the Air National Guard Ramp. Note the presidential limousine convey gathering in the background.

This beauty will remain on the ramp for a few hours before continuing on to Seattle.

Regardless of who this plane was carrying, I'm glad I was finally able to photograph it for the first time!

One last look at this iconic aircraft. No doubt, this is a plane-spotting highlight of the year for me!