"Qatar Gifted Air Force 1 in Final Stages"

 

Sorry I couldn't post yesterday, Work got ahead of me.

      I snagged this off "Aviation Week"

The U.S. Air Force has officially received the Qatar-gifted Boeing 747-8i and will conduct the final commissioning flights ahead of its entrance into service as the next Air Force One in the coming weeks.

The service announced June 19 that the aircraft, officially called the VC-25B Bridge Aircraft, had arrived at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, where the Presidential Airlift Group will begin its introduction to the role. The aircraft has the new red, white, blue and gold livery, and “final government modifications.”

According to the Air Force, the new 747 fills an imperative to relieve pressure on the current aging VC-25A fleet, which has seen its heavy maintenance cycles extended.

“The safety and security of the commander in chief is our highest priority,” Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said in an announcement. “From the beginning, we meticulously evaluated every requirement to accelerate delivery while maintaining the high standards expected of the presidential mission. This effort proves that the U.S. Air Force can move fast without sacrificing quality, security or reliability.”

This final stage will allow White House officials to validate that the aircraft can meet the Air Force One mission, along with finalizing protocols for presidential transport, the service said in the announcement. Once completed, it will officially enter service in the executive airlift fleet alongside VC-25As and C-32s.

While many of the specifics have not been disclosed, the Air Force says this aircraft was modified with advanced technologies to meet the requirements of the mission. As Aviation Week first reported in January, the interior of the aircraft will remain largely the same. It is not clear how extensively the 747 has been modified for self-protection, which is a large driver of the work on the Boeing VC-25Bs that have been in development for several years. The Air Force announcement states some of the capabilities have been skipped.

“No risk was taken in security, safety or mission communications, but the collective team made trades on some of the less commonly used mission sets that Boeing must deliver to support the next 40 years,” the service said in the announcement.

As the aircraft was in modification, the Air Force has been training pilots to fly the 747-8i—a significant change from the existing 747-200 training for the current fleet. The service leased an Atlas Air 747-8F last October for training and has purchased two 747-8is from Lufthansa for training. Additionally, the Air Force says it delivered a full mockup of the interior in January for the White House to begin training.

“We are proud to deliver the VC-25B Bridge aircraft to the president,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Ken Wilsbach said in the announcement. “Many thought it could not be done, but the United States Air Force was able to execute and provide a secure, reliable airborne command post on an accelerated timeline.”