A short video about the very first Air Force One, Columbine II.
Enjoy!
The first plane to be designated as Air Force One now sits in a southern Arizona field that’s part of Marana Regional Airport.
The aircraft that once spirited President Dwight D. Eisenhower on cross-country voyages is nearly forgotten on a 10-acre parcel, decaying under the relentless glare of the sun.
“I think it’s one of these big secrets that, really, few people know that it’s out there,” airport manager Steve Miller told The Arizona Daily Star. “It’s sad that it’s just sitting out there, considering its history over the past 70 years.”
The original Air Force One is a Lockheed VC-121 Constellation 48-610 that was built in California in 1948. The next year it was converted to carry VIPs and re-designated as a VC-121A.
It was named Columbine II after the state flower of Colorado, the home state of first lady Mamie Eisenhower.
In 1953 it became the official presidential aircraft until it was replaced in 1954, when it became the primary backup aircraft.
After a brief civilian stint with Pan American, the aircraft carried Eisenhower for a final time on Oct. 25, 1959, on a trip from Augusta, Ga., to Washington, D.C.
It served as a VIP transport at Washington National Airport and Maryland’s Andrews Air Force Base before it was retired and flown to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in 1968. It was stripped of its identity and fitted with mismatched landing gear.
Mel Christler of Christler Flying Service bought the aircraft, along with four others, in a 1970 surplus auction, not knowing its true identity. He hoped to convert it to an aerial sprayer, but the plane would not fly due to the landing gear problem.
