PHOTOS: Biden Changes Colors of Air Force One Back to Blue and White
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A rendering of President Joe Biden's new Air Force One US Air Force
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- President Joe Biden will keep with tradition and feature a blue and white Air Force One fleet.
- The news comes years after former President Donald Trump proposed that the colors change.
- Trump's changes would have resulted in additional heat on significant plane parts, the Air Force said.
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President Joe Biden decided that Air Force One will have a blue and white livery design similar to its predecessors, the Air Force announced Friday.
One key difference in these planes — modified Boeing 747s known as VC-25B — is that they will instead feature a "slightly deeper, more modern tone" of blue than the robin's egg blue used by former presidents, according to a statement from the Air Force.
Additionally, the engines will also use a darker blue and the plane will no longer have a polished metal section "because modern commercial aircraft skin alloys don't allow for it."
A crowd of people stand on the tarmac of theTopeka airport as the new United States Air Force One presidential aircraft taxis up in Topeka, Kansas, Thursday, Sept. 6, 1990. The Boeing 747, assembled in Kansas, made its maiden voyage with President George Bush on board as he travels to the Midwest for a political fundraising event. Cliff Schiappa/ AP
The new planes — there are two, though whichever is carrying the president at the time has the Air Force One call sign — are part of the Presidential Aircraft Replacement program to replace the current fleet, which are facing the end of their 30-year planned life cycle, according to the Defense Technical Information Center.
The first new aircraft is expected in 2027, and the second in 2028.
The news comes after his predecessor, President Donald Trump, proposed in 2019 that all new presidential aircraft don a white and navy blue color scheme, with a red stripe down the middle.
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 20: A model of the proposed paint scheme of the next generation of Air Force One is on display during a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the Oval Office of the White House June 20, 2019 in Washington, DC. The two leaders were expected to discuss the trade agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Alex Wong/Getty Images
"I like the concept of red, white, and blue," Trump said in 2019. "The baby blue doesn't fit with us."
According to the Air Force statement, the design was rejected after a thermal study found that the new design would result in additional quality testing by the Federal Aviation Administration because of the additional heat from the dark blue color of the proposed plane's underbelly.
On January 20, 2021, shortly after Biden was inaugurated as president, then-White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that Biden has not "spent a moment" thinking about the Air Force One color.
Air Force One, the plane of the president of the United States, is seen during takeoff, June 1968. AP Photo
The original blue and white color scheme, sometimes referred to as "Jackie Kennedy Blue" was first chosen by President John F. Kennedy and first lady Jackie Kennedy, and the colors have been an Air Force One mainstay. The design itself was created by industrial designer Raymond Loewy.
Every Air Force One plane since has kept with tradition and featured a blue and white design.
In this Oct. 27, 1988 file photo, President Ronald Reagan, at podium, addresses supporters during an airport rally for presidential candidate, Vice President George H.W. Bush in Springfield, Mo. James A. Finley/ AP
As noted by the Associated Press, the current planes first carried President George H.W. Bush.
Biden has reversed Trump's dumbass plan to paint Air Force One gold...
Biden's darker blue will absorb more heat. That's what science tells us.
Wrong! You got it exactly backwards. It plainly says so in the article!
Actually no, the article does not say that. It only talks about the heat increase due to the navy blue that Trump wanted but it doesn't talk at all about if the darker blue that Biden wants will increase heat absorption. So will the darker blue that Biden wants absorb more heat than the robin egg blue that has traditionally been used?
That's what science apparently tells you, but not what it tells the scientists.
Trump's Red, White, and Blue Air Force One Paint Job Would Reportedly Turn the Jet Into a Flying Sauna
Sources told Politico Trump's proposed dark blue underside would require new modifications to cool key components
2027 and 2028? So the next President will be able to change it again if they so desire.
But hey, Brandon picked a fucking color to go on a plane. Better give him an extra fucking scoop of ice cream for being such a good damn president!
Lol ... exactly what I was thinking.
I think that the main heat issue is while the aircraft is parked on the tarmac. AF 1 typically cruises at 40,000" where it is around -70 degrees. The are other issues with dark paint ranging from weight, increased chance of bird strike, paint doesn't last as long, etc.