Airliners-India.com Flickr Group & Facebook    FAQ   Search   Memberlist   Usergroups   Register   Profile   Log in to check your private messages   Log in  Airbus A380 as Air Force One?          Airliners-India.com Forum Index -> Military Aviation & Space View previous topic :: View next topic   Author Message karatecatman Guest Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2009 3:49 pm    Post subject: Airbus A380 as Air Force One? www.airforcetimes.com/news/2009/01/airforce_airforceone_replacement_010809/ AFMC begins search for new Air Force One By Bruce Rolfsen - brolfsen@militarytimes.com Thursday Jan 8, 2009 The Air Force needs new a new Air Force One — three new Air Force Ones, to be exact. The pair of modified Boeing 747-200s now flying as the president’s airplane need to be retired starting in 2017, according to Air Force Materiel Command. On Jan. 7, Materiel Command asked firms interested in providing the next-generation of presidential airlift to submit basic information on how they would go about designing and building the planes. The submission deadline is Jan. 29. Materiel Command wants the first new Air Force One ready for operation in 2017, with two others to follow in 2019 and 2021. The jets will start as commercial airframes but will be extensively customized to handle the presidential staff’s security and communications needs, including the ability to refuel in flight and operate from airfields too small for most large passenger jets. There was no mention of a projected budget in Materiel Command’s request. Each of the current 747s cost about $350 million when new. The price tag for the next generation is likely to be much higher — the presidential helicopters now in development cost around $400 million each. Only two firms build wide-body commercial jets large enough to serve as Air Force One — Boeing Co. and the European-based Airbus. Aircraft cited as likely candidates include the Boeing 747-800 and the Airbus A380. The Air Force is not ruling out using an overseas firm to build Air Force One. “The level of security and amount of foreign participation in this requirement has not been determined,” the request advised contractors. The two planes flying as Air Force One — officially designated VC-25s — were purchased in 1987 and delivered in 1990. Both jets were expected to fly without major overhauls for 30 years. The Air Force considered upgrades to the jets instead of buying new planes but concluded the lack of spare parts and modification costs made it unwise to keep the 747s flying much beyond 2017. *** Copyright Back to top sammyk Member Joined: 20 Dec 2006 Posts: 2719 Location: Austin, TX Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2009 9:47 pm    Post subject: Yah I'm gonna say that they'll pick the 748i before the A380. Back to top HAWK21M Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 8132 Location: Mumbai, INDIA Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 11:28 am    Post subject: Agree..... Def going to be a B747 frame. regds MEL _________________ Think of the Brighter side !!! Back to top HamiltonAir Member Joined: 25 Dec 2006 Posts: 937 Location: Bangalore Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 2:04 pm    Post subject: I dont think the A380 will be the next Airforce one, it'llbe the Queen of the skies again AKA 748i _________________ HamiltonAir Back to top airindia787 Member Joined: 18 Nov 2007 Posts: 770 Location: DAB & ZTF Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2009 4:09 am    Post subject: Firstly, these 742s are not exactly old. Younger than some of NW's 744s infact. Second, they are very, very low on cycles. They really don't fly except for important diplomatic missions. And besides, they will always go for Boeing, no matter how hard they try to order Airbus. Just look at the tanker deal. _________________ http://openflights.org/user/akumanduri Back to top sammyk Member Joined: 20 Dec 2006 Posts: 2719 Location: Austin, TX Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2009 12:02 pm    Post subject: airindia787 wrote: Firstly, these 742s are not exactly old. Younger than some of NW's 744s infact. Second, they are very, very low on cycles. They really don't fly except for important diplomatic missions. And besides, they will always go for Boeing, no matter how hard they try to order Airbus. Just look at the tanker deal. If you read the article it states a 2017 replacement timeframe. By then they will have been in service for 27 years. The previous 707 based AF1 was also in service for around the same amount of time. BTW, they are not younger than any 744. These airframes went into production long before the 744 debuted. Back to top texdravid Member Joined: 02 Jul 2007 Posts: 971 Location: GREAT STATE OF TEXAS Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2009 7:37 pm    Post subject: It will raise all hell if the military chose Airbus over the Chicago-based Boeing for the right to transport the President. It is something that will even bring Democrats and Republicans together. As for the fact that the current set of Air Force Ones were delivered in 1989 and first flown by George H.W. Bush, they are not exactly 742's. They are 742 body shells fitted with 744 engines, and of course, advanced hardware that remains classified. Their age may be 20 years, but they fly rarely and of course are managed exceedingly well. All Presidents are sick and tired of their tough jobs after 4 or 8 years, but one thing they all miss is AF one. It is easily the best perk of office, bar none. _________________ "A communist is someone who reads Marx. An anti-communist is someone who understands Marx." Ronald Reagan Proud Conservative in exile, soon to reawaken... Charter member, Indians against Obama Back to top vivekman Member Joined: 26 Dec 2006 Posts: 1897 Location: BOM Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 9:19 am    Post subject: Also consider the fact that not all airfields are capable of handling an A380. The article clearly states: Quote: The jets will start as commercial airframes but will be extensively customized to handle the presidential staff’s security and communications needs, including the ability to refuel in flight and operate from airfields too small for most large passenger jets. What about a 777-300ER, or will the AF still want to stick to a quad-jet? - Vivek _________________ Boeing makes planes. Airbus makes videogames! Back to top sammyk Member Joined: 20 Dec 2006 Posts: 2719 Location: Austin, TX Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 9:40 am    Post subject: I'd imagine they'll stay with a quad as long as a quad is available. Back to top sreenath_y Member Joined: 27 Apr 2008 Posts: 528 Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 2:23 pm    Post subject: Personally, the people all over relate the AF1 to a 47.. i really hope the 748 is the choice.. it looks a lot more like a plane.. 380 is great from the flightdeck.. outside .. an oversized pack of bread..!! LOL. Back to top Aseem Member Joined: 15 Dec 2006 Posts: 2841 Location: YYZ Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 5:11 am    Post subject: here is another article from Popular Mechanic Quote: Earlier this month, the U.S. Air Force began seeking contractors that will build the next generation of Air Force Ones, scheduled to take to the skies starting in 2017. There is more at stake than just money: building airplanes that carry heads of state is the ultimate in bragging rights for a manufacturer. Like the present-day presidential aircraft, a pair of modified 747-200s, the next jumbo jets in the presidential fleet will most likely be based on familiar civilian planes such as Boeing's 747-400 or 747-8 or the Airbus A350 or A380. Despite appearances, Air Force One is nothing like a civilian plane. The request for information put out by the Air Force hints at some of the engineering issues involved. Modifications (many of which are top-secret, like countermeasures against anti-aircraft missiles and communications gear) make it the single most recognizable and talked-about airplane in the world. "This is the Taj Mahal in the air," says Von Hardesty, author of Air Force One: The Aircraft that Shaped the Modern Presidency. "It embodies the United States of America." Although finalized plans for the next Air Force One do not yet exist, the history of these storied planes suggests some ground rules for their future incarnation. Here are some of the features that experts says we will see on the next generation of Air Force Ones. — Mark Anderson Popular Mechanics VT-ASJ _________________ [url=http://openflights.org/user/aseemsjohri] [/url] Back to top ssbmat Member Joined: 20 Dec 2006 Posts: 1710 Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 5:27 pm    Post subject: How ignorant the western world is about Indian history!!! For all intents and purposes, the Taj Mahal, however grand, served as a "mausoleum" ..now, wouldnt the Author want to restate his Metaphor? 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