The Biden administration has decided to abandon the paint proposed by Donald Trump for the new Air Force One aircraft, after a study showed that it could increase costs and after reports that it could pose a safety hazard.
Mr. Trump’s color scheme had the bottom of the planes and engines painted in a dark blue hue, which could lead to higher temperatures on board.
Painting would require additional measures to cool some parts of the plane, which could make it more expensive, according to the Air Force.
“Trump’s painting scheme is not being considered because it could lead to additional engineering, time and money,” a Biden administration official told Politico.
The two new presidential planes will be two modified Boeing 747-8s. They are likely to come in the same light blue and white color scheme as previous iterations that first appeared during John F. Kennedy’s presidency. Boeing had to pay to solve the heating problem.
Air Force budget documents show that planes will not take to the skies until 2026.
Mr Trump entered into discussions about the new planes shortly after entering the White House. He tweeted in February 2017 that the government had reduced the price of the contract with Boeing by “over $ 1 billion”.
Shortly afterwards, Boeing signed a fixed-price contract with the Air Force for the production of aircraft. This means that the company will have to pay for any additional costs.
Mr Trump told ABC News in 2019 that he wanted to change the color of the planes. “Baby blue doesn’t suit us,” he told Fox News. “I like the concept of red, white and blue and the classics, and I think it will actually look much better.”
The former president’s color scheme is similar to that used on his own private jet.
Donald Trump’s private jet landed before the “speak out” rally on December 9, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
(AFP via Getty Images)
In 2018, the Air Force awarded Boeing a $ 3.9 billion contract to produce two 747 aircraft to replace the current Air Force One aircraft, which are based on the 747-200B and have been in use since the 1990s. .
Air Force One transporting taxis of US President Joe Biden at Yokota Air Force Base on May 22, 2022 in Fusa, Tokyo, Japan
(Getty Images)
Aircraft construction is facing delays caused by supply chain problems and disagreements between Boeing and a subcontractor, as well as a shortage of qualified mechanics, according to the government’s Accountability Office.
Budget documents show that the planes can fly only four years in the future, which is two years later than originally planned. Boeing has so far lost nearly $ 1.1 billion on the project, Politico reported earlier this month.
Air Force spokesman Anne Stefanek told the publication that “further analysis has concluded that darker colors, among other factors, on the underside of the VC-25B can contribute to temperatures above the current qualification limits of a small number of components’.
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