Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted

Raymond Loewy was a master at public relations and new the value of traveling in the right social circles. What two Loewy designs came about as the result of Lowey and Jackie Kennedy’s friendship?

Posted

Color scheme of Air Force One and a U.S. postage stamp that commerated JFK.

Right on both items. When JFK became president, he "inherited" Eisenhower's fleet of aircraft. Kennedy didn't like the regal look of the paint scheme that the Air force proposed for his long range Boeing 707 ( red paint, metallic gold highlights, "United States of America" in big block letters), so he listened to Jackie and who suggested that Loewy be contacted to come up with a better design.

Loewy's design exposed the polished aluminum fuselage on the bottom side, and used two blues; a slate-blue associated with the early republic and the presidency, and a more contemporary cyan to represent the present and future. The presidential seal was added to both sides of the fuselage near the nose, a large American flag was painted on the tail, and the sides of the aircraft read "United States of America" in all capital letters.

The same paint scheme transitioned nicely to the 747s, currently used by President Obama, when they replaced the 707s in 1990.

Posted

In the early '90s when the first 747 was being delivered to the Air Force at Andrews AFB, the pilots were "joyriding" in it around DC...and they were flying LOW showing it off. They were definitely below minimum altitude. It is quite the impressive aircraft.

Posted

In the early '90s when the first 747 was being delivered to the Air Force at Andrews AFB, the pilots were "joyriding" in it around DC...and they were flying LOW showing it off. They were definitely below minimum altitude. It is quite the impressive aircraft.

Quire impressive. Obama is flying into Palm Springs this Friday and Air Force One and a gaggle of support aircraft will be parked at the airport for the weekend. The airport is in the center of town and the 747 will be flying low over several neighborhoods as it lands. It's huge compared to the usual commercial flights that come and go every day and easily seen from any of the streets around the airport. This is his fourth visit in a year.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...