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Air Force One, a Cherished Perk Awaiting an Upgrade
New York Times ^ | OCT. 18, 2015 | PETER BAKER

Posted on 10/18/2015 11:06:47 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki

WASHINGTON — President Obama has already made clear what he will miss the most when he leaves office in 15 months. “People sometimes ask me what the biggest perk of being president is,” he told visitors at the White House last week. “No. 1 is the plane.”

In September, he told another audience that “the plane is nice” and that unfortunately for him “my lease is running out,” so he might soon have to “start taking off my shoes again going through security.” In Kenya in July, he noted that when he visited as a young man his luggage was lost: “That doesn’t happen on Air Force One.”

Let’s face it: The plane is, in fact, pretty nice, and the president’s luggage is indeed very rarely lost. But the plane is also getting old. And so after more than a million miles of flying while in office, its current primary passenger is planning to bequeath his successor — or perhaps his successor’s successor — a new-and-improved Air Force One spiffed up for the smartphone age.

The Defense Department hopes to sign an initial contract with Boeing in the coming weeks to begin the long process of assembling a new presidential aircraft capable of ferrying the commander in chief around the world with the capacity to run a war from midair if necessary. Built on the frame of a Boeing 747-8, it will be bigger, more powerful, able to fly farther and vastly more advanced technologically than the current customized Boeing 747-200B jumbo jet.

Mr. Obama himself will not benefit from the trade-in. By some estimates, the new plane may not be available until 2023, when Hillary Rodham Clinton or Donald J. Trump or whoever beats them may be clos

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: aerospace; airforceone; boeing; potus
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To: Vic S

Visited as a “young boy” is code for “born there.”


21 posted on 10/19/2015 2:39:44 AM PDT by Gaffer
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To: sukhoi-30mki

Air Force One will get its biggest upgrade in history on January 20, 2017, when we put a real president back in that airplane.


22 posted on 10/19/2015 2:49:24 AM PDT by Pollster1 ("Shall not be infringed" is unambiguous.)
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To: sukhoi-30mki

This man has never deserved this plane , he has abused the use of it entirely .
Few keep in mind that with every flight a fleet of C-17’s and backup AF1’s must go along . The costs are incomprehensible , and rarely justifiable , in catering to the every whim of our imperial negroes .

I can’t wait to see President Trump rarely use the same services . Maybe he will , maybe he won’t . But he will deserve it , not like this pretender .


23 posted on 10/19/2015 3:03:38 AM PDT by LeoWindhorse
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To: sukhoi-30mki

Seems like they just did this for Bush? When the end of the world comes, POTUS will be fine, & flying and ruling over our corpses!


24 posted on 10/19/2015 3:13:10 AM PDT by PghBaldy (12/14 - 930am -rampage begins... 12/15 - 1030am - Obama's advance team scouts photo-op locations.)
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To: sukhoi-30mki

He wore the plane out, at our expense, of course.


25 posted on 10/19/2015 3:57:01 AM PDT by Old Yeller (Obama's Iran nuclear deal - The Devil is in the details.)
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To: sukhoi-30mki

What? It doesn’t get ESPN in HD? -PJ


26 posted on 10/19/2015 4:06:01 AM PDT by Political Junkie Too (If you are the Posterity of We the People, then you are a Natural Born Citizen.)
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To: fatnotlazy

Yup. Gonna be hard to get the smell of stale cigarettes, weed and whatever else that clown and his posse have inflicted on her.


27 posted on 10/19/2015 4:30:06 AM PDT by Buckeye Battle Cry (Hillary - Ethically sleazy and politically stupid)
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To: sukhoi-30mki

With all the “stimulus money” Obama siphoned off and hid in the Caymans, he can probably buy his own 7X7 outfitted with gold fixtures.


28 posted on 10/19/2015 6:22:44 AM PDT by hattend (Firearms and ammunition...the only growing industries under the Obama regime.)
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To: LeoWindhorse

Ahh, but the TDY’s and per diem pay have been a huge bonus to the crews that support his grifting, er, I mean “official” trips...I’d wager you won’t hear too many aircrews, ground crews, security, transportation and logistics folks complaining about all of his trips.

Just think of the CV-22 crew and their trip to Martha’s Vineyard to take the dog on vacation...


29 posted on 10/19/2015 8:33:45 AM PDT by SZonian (Throwing our allegiances to political parties in the long run gave away our liberty.)
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To: sukhoi-30mki

” so he might soon have to “start taking off my shoes again going through security.””

My desire is that people wanting to visit him in Max Security Prison would have to take off their shoes and submit to a search prior to seeing him on the other side of the glass


30 posted on 10/19/2015 10:00:23 AM PDT by TexasTransplant (Idiocracy used to just be a Movie... Live every day as your last...one day you will be right)
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To: SZonian

wow ! this is a perspective I never thought of .

I am sure you are right . However , as a taxpayer , I still
oppose them . He’s way overboard with the use .
I hope he ends up flying coach on Delta


31 posted on 10/19/2015 2:43:58 PM PDT by LeoWindhorse
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To: SZonian

which museum will receive it?

It should go to the Air Force Museum.


32 posted on 10/19/2015 3:07:57 PM PDT by longtermmemmory (VOTE! http://www.senate.gov and http://www.house.gov)
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