President Trump has stated that he wants the new Air Force One aircraft to be painted Red, White and Blue instead of the baby blue colour the current aircraft have.
“It’s going to be the top of the line, the top in the world,’’ Trump said in an interview with CBS. “And it’s going be red, white and blue, which I think is appropriate.’’
The new paint job for a global symbol of U.S. power would replace the blue, light blue and white color scheme that dates to the Kennedy era. Trump put the spotlight on Air Force One shortly before taking office when he criticized Boeing Co. for the expense of the converted 747 jumbo jets. He later reached an agreement with the planemaker and took credit for lowering the cost.
“Boeing gave us a good deal. And we were able to take that,” Trump said in comments that aired Tuesday, confirming an Axios report last week on the presidential plane’s new look. “But I said, ‘I wonder if we should use the same baby blue colors?’ And we’re not.” – Time
Here’s Why Air Force One is Blue
In May of 1962, in anticipation of a new pair of planes to serve as Air Force One, Boeing’s exterior designs for the planes— which included the typical red and orange military plane markings and type-font lettering — were released to the public. According to the New England Historical Society, Raymond Loewy, a well-known French industrial designer who had created designs for Coca-Cola, Lucky Strikes Cigarettes and Studebaker cars, made it known to a White House aide that elements of the proposed sketch were “gaudy” and “amateurish.”
When Jackie Kennedy heard that such a well-respected designer had critiqued the design of the iconic planes, she asked her husband to hire Loewy for the job.
Ever-conscious of appearances and trends, the First Lady wanted to make sure the planes that served as a foreign country’s first impression of JFK would represent the U.S. leader well. During Loewy’s first meeting with JFK in the West Wing, he had the president sit on the floor with him as they sketched a new paint scheme, according to the book Air Force One. Kennedy, who wanted a design with less military nomenclature, changed the traditional “U.S. Air Force” markings on the side to a more neutral designation of “The United States of America.” He also added the presidential seal near the nose of the plane, and an American Flag on the tail. In order to select the best font, Loewy looked to historical U.S. documents for inspiration; when he saw the typeface of the original Declaration of Independence, he knew he had found the perfect model. Widely spaced letters in all capitals, using the font Caslon, were then applied for the lettering on the planes.
For the color palette of the aircraft, Loewy went with a simple but striking design. Knowing Kennedy’s affinity for blue, the designer came up with the paint scheme that is now synonymous with the presidential planes, using slate and cyan blue for the middle and wings, and leaving the top of the plane white with a silver underside.
The new design, like most things the Kennedy family did, was received with great fanfare from the American public. In 1961, when the Kennedy couple went to France on one of the first flights of the upgraded planes, TIME’s Hugh Sidey reported that the new look was a hit:
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Then, while it was still dawn in his own country, President John F. Kennedy‘s scarlet-nosed Boeing 707 jet (code name: “Air Force One”) angled down through the pattern of clouds that covered northern France, and it came time for John Kennedy to prove that the words of the song had real meaning. Five minutes ahead of schedule, the huge craft eased onto the runway at Paris‘ Orly Airport. A light haze filtered the bright sun, and there was no hint of rain to come later in the day; except for the chill (58°), it was Paris at its seductive springtime best. As the jet taxied toward the terminal, Kennedy pulled up the knot in his tie, brushed down a stray lock of hair; Jackie Kennedy carefully settled her pillbox hat—blue, to match the spring coat created by Designer Oleg Cassini—on top of her well-combed, bouffant hairdo. Press Secretary Pierre Salinger came forward with a last-minute report on details of the arrival ceremony; Kennedy listened, nodded his approval.
When the presidential plane wheeled to a stop in front of the terminal, the drums of a French air force band rolled out a rhythmic welcome. Dressed in a double-breasted grey suit, the Savior of France led his welcoming party—including Madame de Gaulle, U.S. Ambassador to Paris James Gavin, France‘s Ambassador in Washington Herve Alphand—along 75 yards of red carpet to the debarking ramp. With a grin and a choppy, campaign-style wave. Kennedy stepped from the plane, Jackie a pace behind him. When the President of the U.S. and the President of France shook hands, De Gaulle gave greeting in his stilted, seldom-used English: “Have you made a good aerial voyage?” When Kennedy, grinning, answered yes, De Gaulle said: “Ah, that’s good.”
Sidey would later recall that he was “deeply touched by the majesty of the moment” and that the plane’s paint job was a testament of the First Lady’s impeccable sense of style.
Only time and critical review will tell if Trump’s “more American” red, white and blue Air Force One will be able to match the ability of Loewy’s design to exude presidential power with simple elegance — but for the next 6 years the iconic “Jackie Kennedy Blue” will continue to represent the U.S. abroad.
Hopefully, Congress won’t allow President Trump to come up with anything too gaudy (or better yet, shot down this red, white, and blue paint scheme entirely and keep the Kennedy era blue paint scheme). With the deficit ever climbing the U.S. has better things to spend it’s money on.