It's essential to track the whereabouts of any aircraft that takes to the sky. However, when one of the passengers on board is a high-profile government figure such as the President of the United States, the safety and security of the aircraft is taken much more seriously. Equipped with nuclear bomb-resistant materials and technology that can make it invisible to enemies, the president's aircraft is designed to be one of the safest aeroplanes on Earth. This plane is referred to as Air Force One.
Air Force One is not a term that refers to one specific plane, but any aircraft that is carrying the current US president. Even planes that are designed to carry the person at the top of the US government cannot be referred to Air Force One until the president steps on board. The term was first coined in 1953 when the president's aircraft and a commercial airliner had the same flight number and entered the same airspace at the same time. To prevent air-traffic controllers from confusing the president's plane with another aircraft, Air Force One has been used as its designation ever since.
The two current Air Force Ones are Boeing 747-200Bs. These models have been in service as the presidents' jets since 1990, so to stop them becoming too outdated, a new generation of Air Force Ones are under construction. The new model will be the Boeing 747-8. To keep the aircraft secure, many of the details are classified, but its features are expected to remain similar to the current Air Force One planes - providing a high level of luxury and safety on all of the president's future trips.
THE FIRST PRESIDENTIAL PLANE
Esta historia es de la edición Issue 176 de How It Works UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición Issue 176 de How It Works UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
THE POWER OF WATER
We're hooked on fossil fuels. But hydroelectric power is becoming an increasingly important replacement for coal and oil
EXPLORING THE MOON'S CAVES
Earth's rocky neighbour is home to a network of unexplored caves, and scientists are keen to take a peek inside
HOW TO ELECT THE PRESIDENT
The campaigns, votes and elections that put someone in America's most powerful office
WHAT IS MORNING SICKNESS?
Why some pregnancies can cause nausea and vomiting
20 WEIRDEST SCIENCE MYSTERIES
From dark matter to deep-sea crabs, science still can't fully explain these strange quirks of nature
THE TRIANGULUM GALAXY SHINES IN A NEW HUBBLE IMAGE
A nearby galaxy is shining with star formation in a new image from the Hubble Space Telescope.
The world's fastest charger fully powers smartphones in five minutes
Scientists have revealed the fastest battery-charging technology in the world for smartphones, which can fully charge a smartphone in less than five minutes.
Real-time brain stimulation slashes Parkinson's symptoms by half in trials
Brain stimulation that rapidly adjusts in real-time can dramatically reduce Parkinson’s symptoms, an early trial suggests.
The hottest ocean temperature in 400 years threatens the Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is facing the hottest sea surface temperatures in four centuries.
Massive medieval coin hoard worth about 150 sheep' discovered
Archaeologists in Germany have unearthed over 1,500 medieval silver coins after a citizen noticed what looked like ‘small metal plates’ while digging during a construction project.
