We already have two new AF-Ones on order from Boeing for $3.9 billion

[allegorical oracle]

The backstory:
Boeing received a $3.9 billion contract in 2018 to build two new Air Force One aircraft. It was a fixed price that would have saved taxpayers money, so even though it has gone over budget, Boeing will foot the bill and taxpayer money will only pay the original $3.9 billion.

snip

Now, the two new 747-8s are delayed until 2027 or 2028 because Boeing has experienced unstable labor, engineering changes, and supply. Furthermore, there were issues with subcontractors, forcing Boeing to replace them, only adding to the delay. Moreover, the company struggled finding enough employees who could hold a security clearance. Unfortunately, setbacks like that cost time and money.

President Trump was the one who brokered the original $3.9 billion deal with Boeing, hoping the project wouldn't exceed $4 billion. It was also the president who got to choose the plane's paint scheme. He landed on a dark shade of blue for the underbelly, white for the upper half with a thick red stripe and a thin gold stripe separating the two.

snip

One could say that President Biden was a traditionalist or he was a fan of the lighter blue paint job the current Air Force One has, but his color scheme would have been the cost-effective choice. The dark underbelly that Trump is a fan of would "...drive additional engineering, time, and cost," according to CNN. A dark paint job on the lower half of the plane could cause the temperature to rise and exceed the qualification limits for electronics that are designed to protect the plane and those aboard. However, with Trump back in the Oval Office, it appears that he has reverted back to his original idea as he cut an Air Force One-shaped cake at his inaugural ball with his color palette.

Read More: https://www.slashgear.com/1778472/why-new-air-force-one-boeing-2-7-billion-dollars-over-budget/

[rampartd]

1. what is wrong with these people

when your engineers tell you that the paint effects the cooling, listen to them.

more seriously, the paint effects visibility from the ground. there is a reason the birds , fish, and such have evolved lighter colors on bottom to blend

[SheltieLover]

2. Well, being that repukes hate Nature in all her glory, they would refuse to look at common sense.

Fucking idiots.

I hope no innocent people get hurt because of kraznov's hatred of the feminine dynamics of Nature.



PS - Personally, I wouldn't pay 2 cents to fly this slob anywhere except one-way to hell.

[AloeVera]

3. It's been pushed back to 2029 now for delivery

Meaning Trump wouldn't get to use it. That would really piss him off. Qatar did not come up with the "gift" idea on its own, I'd wager. Looking like a quid pro quo to me.

[rubbersole]

4. DOGE the new planes for the 'cheap' gold toilet one...

Just saved the US taxpayers $3.9 billion. Easy!

Oh, wait...we already paid Boeing? That damn Biden! Or Hillary! Or Obama! Woke! Tax cuts! Parades! Fake news! Tariffs! Trade deals! Presidential briefs! Stained!...

[jmowreader]

5. An aerodynamic question

Would the dark underbelly Trump wants affect how the aircraft flies? It seems to me that the heat absorbed by the dark color would make the plane push up against the air and complicate landing it. People paint airplanes white on the underside for a reason.

[WarGamer]

7. they're out there

[Igel]

10. I heard this here a couple of weeks ago.

Periodically dig.

One claim was that the dark paint has more air resistance. Counter: Perhaps--only "perhaps"--50 years ago. But not now.

Claim: "There's a reason that birds and such are light underneath. It's so they're not visible from below." Counter: Same for fish. On the other hand, it's not like there's an active campaign to spot and destroy civilian (or government/military) aircraft. Plus that wasn't a claim, just an observation.

Claim: "You don't want heat absorbed on the bottom, that's why the top's darker." Counter: But the Sun's going to be hotter than the IR emitted by the ground. In addition, blackbodies cool faster than more reflective bodies, with black being the easiest crude approximation of a blackbody. If there's a worry about heat from below, dark would be best below. But the claim's the flip of that.

One could claim, plausibly, that you'd want the top of the plane dark so it would cool faster when the Sun went down (but pity the HVAC during the day--thankfully, most flights are at night ... Oh ... Wait ....) Polished metal would be the worst "color" for cooling. There you have it. (Actually, white titanium-based paint, if smooth, might be good. Emits in the IR.)

Plus it's not that the claim that the bottoms of planes are conventionally all light isn't fairly sieve-y. Apparently during WWII they were painted dark to help other pilots spot them. Otherwise ...

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/why-do-airliners-have-dark-bellies-64155827/
https://www.airlinereporter.com/2011/12/why-is-american-painting-the-bottom-of-their-planes/
https://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/1833/why-are-airliner-underbellies-generally-painted-differently

[mitch96]

6. But the Boeing jets don't have all the "optional" recording and tRump tracking devices. Maybe it even has

a self destruct if he pisses off the Qataris...
m

[A HERETIC I AM]

8. This article has one enormous flaw. It's wrong about...

About Boeing building these two -8’s specifically for the AF1 mission.

The two 747-8’s that are currently in the process of being converted for use as presidential aircraft were originally intended for sale to a Russian airline. The airline never took delivery because they went out of business before they could.

They were never built from the ground up to be used as presidential aircraft. They were never intended to be purchased by the Air Force.

Trumpy made a big deal of buying these planes, which at the time were sitting in high Desert storage in Victorville, California because he said it would save money as the air frames were already constructed instead of having Boeing build brand new aircraft to the specifications laid down by the Air Force..

As it turns out with most things that Trumpy has his fingers in, trying to retrofit two aircraft built for commercial use into aircraft with electromagnetic shielding on wiring, anti-missile defense systems, and communications gear turned out to be a huge problem.

Hence the cost overruns. From what I have read, they basically had to strip the airplanes down to the frame rails and essentially completely rewire both planes with shielded wiring and other equipment and systems required by the Air Force. If I’m not mistaken, the original contractor assigned to do the work went out of business and that added to the delays.

This article makes it sound like Boeing was contracted to build the aircraft that are currently being retrofitted. That is not the case.

Boeing did have a contract in place, but Trumpy ended it and directed the Air Force to acquire these other two aircraft.

So again, everything Trumpy touches turns to shit.

And for what it’s worth, that man will never fly on that Qatari 747 as president.

The Secret Service would never allow it, not without a major retrofit like the two that are destined to be the new Air Force ones are getting


Plus, that fucking lunatic cannot be allowed to have the new aircraft painted so they look like his 30-year-old 757.

If you look at pictures of his airplane and then the color scheme that he wants on the new Air Force ones, it is exactly the same, just inverted

IT CAN NOT BE ALLOWED!

[Ms. Toad]

9. Since he's going to take it with him,

They are still needed.