Trump's vision for Air Force One will turn it from the 'Flying White House' to a 'palace in the sky'
Since President Donald Trump excitedly announced that he would be accepting a US$400 million plane from the Qatari government to serve as the next Air Force One, even members of his own party have expressed alarm. There's the price tag of refurbishing the plane with top-secret systems ' upward of $1 billion, according to some estimates. Then there are the conflicts of interest from accepting such a large present from a foreign nation ' what some say would be the most valuable gift ever given to the U.S. Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first president to fly while in office. In January 1943, he boarded the Navy-owned, civilian-operated Boeing Dixie Clipper ' a sea plane ' for a trip to Casablanca to meet with Allied leaders. The security measures needed to safely transport the president ' especially during wartime ' spurred the creation of the first custom-built aircraft for presidential use, a heavily modified VC-54 Skymaster. Though officially named 'The Flying White House,' the...
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