There are loads of information about Air Force One, so I won't be repeating a lot of it. Air Force One is the designation for the aircraft that the President happens to be on at the time. Most people think of the Boeing 747-200Bs as being AF-1, but in reality, a C-9, a 757, and a GulfStream III have been used in the past to ferry the President around. As for the 747s, there are two in the inventory and they appear to be the transportation of choice for the President. And no, Laura doesn't get the second one. When she flies alone, she has to take the smaller coporate jets that Air Force generals use.
Some interesting aspects of these 747s are that they have air refueling capability, shielding for EMP, and a medical facility. Responsibility for the aircrafts falls to the 89th Presidential Airlift Group at Andrews Air Force Base. The planes are housed in the 140,000 square foot maintenance and support complex at Andrews on the southwest end of the western runway. The maintenance building itself is surrounded by two layers of fencing. There is one entrance on the west side guarded by a guard shack. The second entrance opens to the tarmac on the east end. There is also a guard shack there plus a fence. Directly to the immediate southwest corner is a baseball field. This could almost be a BOP facility if it had ample parking. >:P Further to the south of the maintenance area is another area that is protected by at least two fence layers. It almost looks like some sort of munition storage facility.
Some good links to learn more about Air Force One:
http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/military/af1/af1info.html
people.howstuffworks.com/air-force-one1.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Force_One
Runway length requirements for a Boeing 747, according to the San Diego Air Transportation Action Program:
100% Max Takeoff Weight- 10,400 feet
90% Max Takeoff Weight- 8,400 feet
80% Max Takeoff Weight- 6,600 feet
From the site www.dsto.defence.gov.au, it talks about jet fuel:
"Jet fuel is used as the primary heat sink in all modern aircraft. As jet fuel is subjected to high heat loads, it undergoes thermal stress and will degrade. This degradation will lead to the formation of solid deposits in the aircraft fuel system and specifically in fuel nozzles. Thermally generated deposits are detrimental to efficient operation of aircraft engines and may cause damage in the hot section due to distorted fuel spray patterns. An additive developed for the United States Air Force, that is claimed to reduce fuel thermal deposit by up to 90%, was evaluated in an AED thermal stability test rig. This additive, widely known as JP8+100, was trialled over a range of jet fuel types and thermal stressing conditions and was found to be effective in both reducing thermal deposition and cleaning deposits from pre-dirtied fuel tubing."
As for the fuel that Air Force One uses, you should go to http://www.e-publishing.af.mil/pubfiles/af/23/afman23-110/PUBS/AF/23/23011001/010301/010301.pdf, (read section 1.40) but here is an excerpt from section 1.40.1:
"AF-1 is any aircraft on which the President of the United States is a passenger. JP-8 is the primary fuel for use in these aircraft. If JP-8 is not available,alternate fuels (commercial Jet A-1, commercial Jet A, and JP-5) may be used."
OSIN- See the airnav.com site which tells you which fuel an airport may have on stock. FYI, jet fuel is typically similar to kerosene. It has a higher flash point, meaning it won't spontaneously explode due to a spark of electricity, unlike those other "inflammables." As a side note, do you know that "inflammable" actually meant that it could explode, but for some reason people saw the "in" in that word and thought it meant that the substance was not dangerous, so sparks started to fly? As a result, we use the word "flammable" instead. Since that prefix "in" in the English language usually denotes a negative of some sort, you can't fault people for getting it wrong. The point is, English is a stupid language that was created by drunken playwrights. We should all be speaking Esperanto. Just kidding.
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Here is an interesting article written by a controller (Don Brown) about trying to integrate GPS into the VOR system. You know, I thought GPS had already revolutionized navigation for aircraft, but maybe I was wrong. Good thing I decided to look at the VORTAC system. You can read the article at http://www.avweb.com/news/columns/182634-1.html. The article has a lot of ATC jargon, so you may have to do some studying up on ATC acronyms. You don't have to understand everything about how the FAA works to understand that maybe AF-1 is still navigating by using VORTACs because it's the way the FAA's ATC system still operates.
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At this point I have finished my review of the ATC system and I come away with these following conclusions-
1. The President has flown on several different types of fixed wing aircraft other than the 747-200B. He usually takes the 747, but depending on where he's going and how remote it is, he has the option of a 757, a C-9, and a Gulfstream 3.
2. It appears that Air Force 1 prefers military facilities to land at first, or the air national guard side of a civilian airport if it has one.
3. As Air Force One approaches its destination to within 30 nautical miles, all air traffic, both landing and takeoffs are stopped. There can be anywhere from 10-15 minutes delay for air traffic.
4. The FAA issues a flight restriction of up to 30 nautical miles radius (at the request of the Secret Service) while Air Force 1 and the President are on the ground. Anyone requiring to fly below 18,000 feet must have permission to do so. Normally, air traffic is resumed once the Presidential motorcade or Army/Marine One has departed the airport to whatever event the President is attending.
5. When AF-1 flies to Crawford, TX., it lands at Fort Hood's Robert Gray Army Airfield (GRK) which is about 25-30 miles southwest of Crawford. ZFW ARTCC has operational control for this airport. I'm assuming Bush takes Army One from there to his ranch.
6. When the President visits Camp David, he takes the 757 and likes to land at Hagerstown Regional Airport(HGR) in the ZDC ARTCC zone. If the President cannot helicopter to Camp David from HGR due to inclement weather, he may go in a GulfStream III or similar aircraft and land at Frederick, Maryland. I wonder if they got the lack of radar coverage fixed there? See the ZDC ARTCC report.
7. AF-1 can execute a quick altitude-climbing manuever to avoid surface-to-air missle systems.