Presidential Hangar

1 The Presidential Hangar is located about five minutes away on the Wright Patterson AFB itself. To get there we take a bus.	2 Many historically significant presidential aircraft are in the hangar.	3 A retired pilot full of knowledge and too fond of talking conducted the tour.	4 The LOCKHEED VC-140B JETSTAR on display carried Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan a number of times, although it was not the primary presidential aircraft. Whenever the President was aboard, it flew under the radio call sign Air Force One.
5 This Jet Star ended its 26 years of service when it was flown to the museum on July 16, 1987.	6 I took this photo for Jenni thinking that she would be interested — but she wasn't. The tyres have chines on them to deflect snow and water as the aircraft takes off or lands.	7 US AIR FORCE ESTABLISHED"On July 26, 1947, while aboard the presidential C-54 aircraft, Sacred Cow, President Harry S. Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947, officially establishing the United States Air Force as a separate service under the National Military Establishment. The Act set out requirements for the Air Force that 'it shall be organized, trained and equipped primarily for prompt and sustained offensive and defensive air operations. The Air Force shall be responsible for the air forces necessary for the effective prosecution of war except otherwise assigned and, in accordance with integrated joint mobilization plans, for the expansion of the peacetime components of the Air Force to meet the needs of war.'"	8 PRESIDENT HARRY TRUMAN's presidential airplane. In 1947 USAAF officials ordered a production DOUGLAS DC-6 to be modified as a replacement for the aging VC-54C Sacred Cow presidential aircraft. It differs from the standard DC-6 configuration in that the aft fuselage was converted into a stateroom. The main cabin seated 24 passengers or could be made up into 12 “sleeper” berths.
9 Probably the plane’s most historic flight occurred when it carried President Truman to Wake Island in October 1950 to fire Gen. Douglas MacArthur over public disagreements as to how the war should be conducted. McArthur was surprised to learn, that in a democracy, the armed forces do not dictate foreign poilicy.	10 The BOEING VC-137C SAM 26000. This aircraft carried eight presidents: Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Clinton. SAM 26000 flew President Kennedy to Berlin in 1963, where he declared to West Berliners, "Ich bin ein Berliner," assuring them of continuing United States support in the face of Communist threats and the construction of the Berlin Wall.	11 Kennedy also flew aboard SAM 26000 to Dallas, Texas, where he was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963 — and it was on this airplane that Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as the new president. SAM 26000 then carried John F. Kennedy's body and President Johnson back to Washington, D.C. Johnson also used 26000 to visit U.S. troops in Vietnam during the Southeast Asia War.	12 The LOCKHEED VC-121 E. The C-121 is the military version of the famed Constellation commercial transport. The aircraft on display, the only VC-121E built, was PRESIDENT DWIGHT D EISENHOWER's personal airplane between 1954 and 1961
13 on Nov. 24 1954, Mrs. Eisenhower christened it Columbine III in honour of the official flower of Colorado, her adopted home state. Columbine III served as the presidential aircraft until President Eisenhower left office in January 1961. It remained in service transporting government officials and visiting foreign dignitaries throughout the world until it was retired to the museum in 1966.	14 NORTH AMERICAN F-100D SUPER SABRE The aircraft on display was used by the Thunderbirds, the official USAF Flight Demonstration Team, from 1964 until 1968. During that period, the team toured the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America and nearly every state in the United States.	15 When this was an operational hangar, these iron plates were connected to scales that weighed aircraft.	16 The NORTH AMERICAN T-39A SABRELINER on display was delivered to the USAF on June 6, 1963. It was transferred to Europe and flew missions there until it was damaged in a crash in 1966. From August 1968 until early 1973, this Sabreliner was assigned to Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas, in support of former President Lyndon B. Johnson.
17 After undergoing a fatigue life extension program, the aircraft was sent to Andrews AFB Maryland where, in 1974, it began flying as a test bed for state-of-the-art avionics equipment and as an administrative airlift support transport. The T-39A was flown to the museum on Oct. 24, 1984.	18 The PRATT & WHITNEY R-4360 WASP MAJOR engine was developed near the end of World War II to power the Boeing B-50, an improved version of the successful B-29 Superfortress.	19 The R-4360 is a 28-cylinder, air-cooled radial engine that produces 3,500 hp and weighs 3,500 pounds (1 HP/lb). R-4360s have been used to power various post-WWII USAF bombers, cargo/transports and aerial tankers including the B-36 bomber, the B-35 Flying Wing, the C-74 Globemaster, the C-97 Stratofreighter, the Consolidated XC-99, the C-119 Flying Boxcar and the C-124 Globemaster II aircraft.	20 The PRATT & WHITNEY R-1830 TWIN WASP engine is as famous as the R-4360. T he R-1830 was used on B-24s, C-47s (DC-3) and the Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat. Pratt & Whitney built 13,464 R-1830-90C engines for the C-47 aircraft. It was also used in a variety of British aircraft including the Royal Air Force Catalinas, Short Sunderland Vs, Maryland bombers and Bristol Beauforts.
21 We leave the Presidential Hangar and enter the R&D Hangar through an opening in the wall. CONTINUE AT THE R&D HANGAR. Next folder: R & D Hangar