The high-tech jumbo jet that is the US president’s transport

Many heads of state and government fly around in presidential jets. The aircrafts are deployed for their use as the wielders of executive powers. Tanzania too boasts one such executive jet—the controversial $40m Gulfstream G550 bought in 2002 by retired president Benjamin Mkapa. It is the same plane that President Jakaya Kikwete uses occasionally. But the most easily recognisable and talked-about of all presidential jets is perhaps America’s Air Force One. This is the huge plane that will fly in US President Barack Obama when he starts his official visit to Africa this week. When it finally lands at Julius Nyerere International Airport on Monday, it will be its third trip to Tanzania, having earlier flown in former presidents Bill Clinton in 2000 and George Bush in 2008.

Wherever the US President goes, Air Force One provides one of the many spectacular attractions. It is one of the most sought-after photo snap by plane watchers, tourists and even locals in host countries.

It has a certain mythic quality, largely because it is completely off limits. Visiting leaders and journalists are not allowed in some parts of the plane. In the US itself, Air Force One remains a prominent symbol of its culture. Because of all of the things that it carries, it is no wonder the American media have christened it the “flying White House” in reference to the official office and residence of the incumbent US leader.

The plane’s capabilities were dramatically brought to light in the events following the September 11 Twin-Towers bombings by plane flying terrorists. It is apparently much more than an executive jet, with reports that it became a mobile bunker for then president Bush when all ground positions seemed vulnerable to attack.

With many other unknown features, Air Force One is set wide apart from other planes. Contrary to common perception, it draws its name from a radio call term. As soon as the president steps aboard an Air Force plane, that plane is referred to as Air Force One by the crew and all air traffic controllers, in order to avoid confusion with any other planes in the area. Depending on what Obama rides in, it could be Army One or Marine One in case his specialised helicopter is also listed for deployment during his eight-day visit that will also take him to Senegal and South Africa.

There are usually two nearly identical Boeing 747-200B jets that regularly fly under this designation. The planes themselves are designated VC-25A, with tail numbers 28000 and 29000. The two planes have the same general structure as a normal Boeing 747-200B, and similar capabilities but the inside does not resemble commercial 747s in the slightest.

They are almost as tall as a six-storeyed building, and they are as long as a city block. Each has four General Electric CF6-80C2B1 jet engines, which provide 56,700 pounds of thrust apiece. The top speed is between 630 and 700 miles per hour and it can fly as high as 45,100 feet. Each plane carries 53,611 gallons of fuel and weighs 833,000 pounds fully loaded for a long-range mission. With a full tank, the plane could fly half way around the world.

Air Force One has 4,000 square feet of interior floor space or the equivalent of 13 average bedrooms combined. It looks like a hotel or executive office than a jetliner. The lowest level of the plane serves as cargo space. Most of the passenger room is on the middle level, and the upper level is largely dedicated to communications equipment.

The president has onboard living quarters, with his own bedroom, bathroom, work-out room and office space. Most of the furniture on the plane was hand-crafted by master carpenters. The staff meets in a large conference room, which doubles as the president’s dining room. Senior staff members have their own office area, and the rest of the president’s staff also has space to work and relax. There is a separate area for reporters traveling with the president, and there is plenty of room for the flight crew to do their work. All in all, Air Force One can comfortably carry 70 passengers and 26 crew members.

The crew prepares meals in two fully-equipped galleys to feed about 100 people at a time, and the storage area holds as many as 2,000 meals.

The plane has an onboard medical facility with a pharmacy, loads of emergency room equipment and even a fold-out operating table. The plane also has a staff doctor. On every mission, the plane is prepared for a wide range of potential emergencies. The plane has its own stairways and baggage-loader. It has remarkably 85 onboard telephones, a collection of two-way radios, fax machines and computer connections. It also has 19 televisions and assorted office equipment. The phone system is set up for normal air to ground connections and secure lines. The president and his staff can reach just about anybody in the world while cruising tens of thousands of feet in the air.

The onboard electronics include about 238 miles of wiring (twice the amount you’d find in a normal 747). Heavy shielding is tough enough to protect the wiring and crucial electronics from the electromagnetic pulse associated with a nuclear blast. Another special addition is the in-flight refueling connection. As with the B-2 and other combat craft, in-flight refueling gives Air Force One the ability to stay up in the air indefinitely. Some of the most interesting parts of the plane—its advanced avionics and defences are classified. But the Air Force asserts the two planes are definitely military aircraft, designed to withstand an air attack.

Among other things, the plane is outfitted with electronic counter measures to jam enemy radar. The plane can also eject flares to throw heat-seeking missiles off course. Every Air Force One flight is classified as a military operation and it is handled as such.

In advance of every Air Force One flight, the Air Force crew sends C141 Starlifter cargo carrier planes, toting the president’s motorcade, to the destination. This collection of bulletproof limousines and vans, loaded with weaponry, keeps the president safe on the ground.

When it is time to head off, the Marine One helicopter brings the president from the White House to Andrews Air Force Base. Teams all over the base keep an eye out for any unauthorised craft in the area and are authorised to shoot on sight.

The president always arrives at the base with “the football”—the briefcase that holds the codes for nuclear deployment. An Air Force officer guards the football for the entire flight and passes it on to an Army officer on the ground.

Just like a normal jetliner, Air Force One has a crew to fly the plane and a steward crew to prepare and serve meals and to clean the aircraft. These crew members are carefully screened military personnel, with exemplary service histories.