40 Really Cool Facts About Air Force One

9. How high can Air Force One fly?

A Boeing 747 can cruise at really high altitudes. We’re talking 45,000 feet and beyond! That’s more than 10,000 feet higher than most commercial aircraft.

10. Air Force One is nuclear resistant

Air Force One is its own nuclear defense stronghold. In the event of a nuclear attack, Air Force One is not a bad place to be if you can get in. That’s because the plane’s actual body is designed and secured to withstand the blast of a nuke from the ground, rendering the aircraft a bomb shelter in the sky.

11. Air Force One can refuel in midair

In-flight refueling is a rare commodity that Richard Branson would probably love to introduce to Virgin. But this is a special feature of the one and only Air Force One, which can refuel itself up to 35,000 feet in the air. An aircraft hovers closely above Air Force One and extends its hose down to attach to the plane.

12. Who else sleeps on Air Force One?

POTUS isn’t the only passenger flying on Air Force One. He’s accompanied by a slew of advisors, journalists, secret service members, and senior officials.

13. There are 2 kitchens on Air Force One

You’ve probably seen the tiny kitchen in the back of a regular plane (the one where the stewardess can barely grab your mini-Coke out of the mini-fridge). On Air Force One, there are two legitimately sized kitchens that can legitimately serve 100 people healthy and hearty meals.

14. There are 85 phones onboard

During take-off, your phone should be turned off. That’s the usual protocol for commercial flights, but Air Force One is not anti-phone. In fact, it has upwards of 85 of them. You know, in case 84 are being used. Many of them are used simultaneously.

15. Does Air Force One have cameras onboard?

Back in 1959, the aircraft got cameras placed in its wheel wells that were so strong they could distinguish license plates from nearly 30,000 feet away. This was courtesy of Secretary of State Allen Dulles—of which the Washington D.C.-area airport would later get its name.

16. Ford’s Administration smuggled Coors Beer

There once was a time when you couldn’t buy Coors beer in most eastern states. Unless of course, you were the President of the United States. President Gerald Ford made sure he had access to the tasty brew whenever he was on Air Force One as he had members of his team smuggle it aboard. His cover up was certainly more covert than his predecessor Richard Nixon’s.

 

In 1959, what was Air Force One equipped as? Click “Next” to find out.