New Presidential Plane Is Far From Bush-League -- Latest Air Force One Is Truly A Flying White House
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE - President Bush, a man who seems to think nothing of hopping aboard a jet to meet with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, had just finished touring his new Air Force One on Thursday morning when he was asked whether he might test the plane's in-air refueling capability on a day trip to, say, the Persian Gulf.
He smiled, then said: ``Stay tuned. Have plane, will travel.''
Five years after it was ordered, a new Air Force One - a Boeing 747-200B with the chief executive aboard - headed off into the morning sky outside of Washington, D.C., with those watchwords for a peripatetic presidency.
``It's marvelous in every way. Latest in technology, certainly. And very, very comfortable. It is magnificent,'' Bush said.
And well it should be. The airplane and a second, which is to be delivered in 1991 as a backup, cost approximately $660 million - although the Air Force is paying $140 million each under a fixed-price contract that means Boeing must pick up the cost overruns.
The aircraft is indeed a flying White House: In addition to his work space, Bush has a lounge and bedroom with two fold-down beds larger than twins (a pair of gray, fuzzy slippers with the presidential seal at the toes were planted beneath one), closet space and a shower.
Bonnie Newman, the president's assistant for management and administration, was the first to try the shower, on a test flight to Hawaii. ``It was a kick,'' she said.
The airplane got its first presidential workout Thursday - a 2,630-mile flight from Andrews Air Force Base, outside of Washington, to Topeka, Kan., and Tallahassee, Fla., where Bush spoke at Republican Party fund-raising events, and back to Andrews.
In the president's workspace, there is a heavy wooden desk fit for a corporate chief executive and a beige leather executive chair.
Reporters on a brief tour of the aircraft saw the president reviewing a briefing book for the Helsinki summit, as he sat with his seat belt fastened across his lap.
``It's great,'' he said of his not-oval office.
Further back there is a medical office, equipped with an operating table that folds down from a bulkhead. Magazines on a table impart the feeling of a more stationary doctor's office.
The lounge for the president and first lady at the front of the aircraft is decorated in browns and rust tones. A wall mural resembles a western sky at sunset.
There is also work space, of course, for the presidential staff: computers, typewriters, a coffeemaker and facsimile machines - for secure and non-secure transmissions.
Throughout the aircraft are televisions and VCRs. Showing in one of the two Secret Service cabins was ``The Fabulous Baker Boys.'' In the press compartment, it was ``Young Einstein.'' Other choices included ``Look Who's Talking,'' ``The Abyss,'' ``Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' and ``Steel Magnolias.''
Bush has been said to be somewhat embarrassed by the apparent opulence of the aircraft.
When someone on a tour commented that he seemed to have done quite well with the new jet, Bush chimed in with a quick correction: ``Thank heavens somebody else did OK for me five years ago.''
That was a reference to the fact that the plane was ordered in fiscal 1986, when President Reagan was in office.
The jetliner was assembled in Boeing's Everett, Wa., plant and outfitted by its Wichita, Kan., division.
Wiring modifications caused most of the delivery delay. The government-required changes forced Boeing to replace all of the plane's wiring. Other modifications also were required during the outfitting at Wichita, adding to the delay.
-- Times business reporter Polly Lane contributed to this report.
--------------------------------------------------------
----------------------
THE NEW AIR FORCE ONE
----------------------
President Bush made his first foreign trip on the new Air Force One yesterday, flying to Helsinki, Finland, to meet Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. The plane is a modified Boeing 747-200; it replaces a Boeing 707.
IMPROVEMENTS OVER THE OLD AIR FORCE ONE
Self-contained
Two built-in folding stairs, built-in baggage loading equipment and a second auxiliary power generating unit to provide electricity and air conditioning are designed to make the plane self-sufficient at any airfield.
More passengers and crew
New 747: 70 passengers, 23 crew
Old 707: 46 passengers and 17 crew
Shorter runway required
In spite of its greater size, the 747 needs 35% less runway than the 707
Greater range
New 747: 7,140 miles, greater if refueled in flight
Old 707: 6,000 miles (no in-flight refueling capacity)
More room
New 747: 4,000 sq. ft., with 3,530 sq. ft. on the main deck
Old 707: 1,260 sq. ft. on the main deck
WHAT'S INSIDE
Refueling probe
Cockpit: A navigator has been added to the typical 747 cockpit crew
Crew area: Used for rest and communications operators
Executive staff room that can be converted to medical facility
President's living quarters: includes couches that fold out into twin beds, a dressing room and lavatory
President's office
Conference room
Infrared jammers
Junior staff, security, secretarial and press seating
Auxiliary power units
707
Main deck
Lower deck
747
Upper deck
Main deck
Lower deck
Baggage storage, food storage area, communication and electronic gear in lower deck
Sources: Boeing, U.S. Air Force, Wichita Eagle, news reports