Name: The New Air Force One: Flying Fortress (Full Episode) | SPECIAL | National Geographic
Uploaded: 2026-02-15T17:04:36.000Z
Duration: 44 min 25 s
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As soon as I step through this door, the security for Air Force One are in my hands.

Getting prepared, calling the airfield, making sure that we have adequate security, and

then making sure we have all the equipment and guns that we need to have on each mission.

In just a few hours, the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump, will be boarding Air Force One on an undisclosed mission.

The Ravens, an elite security force, ensure the President's safety.

It's nonstop adrenaline, no matter where we fly in the world.

Just making sure that Air Force One, the President and the crew are fully secured in our responsibility.

With an 8 mile no fly zone in place, the presidential helicopter Marine One approaches Joint Base Andrews, home to Air Force One.

The reason for this high degree of security, Air Force One is America's airborne command center, literally the flying White House.

As the most important plane on the planet, Air Force One carries American presidents to some of the most dangerous places on Earth.

But after 30 years of missions across the world, this plane will soon be retired with honors.

Taking her place will be a new state of the art 747 jumbo jet.

But to become Air Force One, she will need to undergo a dramatic metamorphosis.

Air Force One serves as a command center because we have so much military equipment and other things on equipment that I don't even talk about.

But the new Air Force One has absolutely finer systems.

To elevate the new 747 to the highest of military standards, technicians have to integrate high tech communications and military defense systems and at the same time recast the plane's interior, enveloping it in VIP luxury.

National Geographic has been granted unprecedented access to film this highly sensitive military makeover, revealing just what it will take to make the new Air Force One a flying fortress.

Beneath the massive hangar at Joint Base Andrews are two Air Force One aircraft.

This ensures the President always has a spare.

Today, the crew battles to keep both planes in tip top condition.

It's a 30 year old aircraft that we're trying to make look brand new every day.

Some of the problems we found with getting parts repaired, the vendors who repair them are moving on.

It is essentially like a classic car, except believe we take better pride in it.

For Alex, Air Force One's chief pilot, the cockpit's analog instruments present their own unique challenges.

So we're having a tough time getting the parts that we need to continue operating at the level of service that we do.

It's very exciting for the next Air Force One to come online.

It's an opportunity for our team to take that level of service, service that we provide at the Flying White House and ensure that exists for another two to three decades.

With security in place, the plane moves to the boarding area.

As the President's helicopter approaches, everyone prepares for what's commonly called the show, the Presidential walk from Marine One to Air Force One.

That walk was made famous by President Reagan.

He's the one that really started the choreography of the show For Reagan's theatrical entrance.

He ordered the helicopter's engines to be shut down and silent to keep the public's focus on the presidential boarding of Air Force One.

The security of the President rests upon the precision of the show.

So as the President's walking towards the airplane, the pilots, the navigators, were listening to secret service radios to get all the cues of when we need to get the airplane started and get this Flying White House moving.

We'll get the back taxi on Runway one left to Sierra for a one way departure.

The first time I came onto Air Force One was a big moment, frankly in my life because over the years it has meant so much.

It's so important as a symbol, a symbol of power and strength, the symbol of the Presidency.

It's something that's just very, very special.

Once the President sets foot on board the airplane, that's our cue to start the engines on the right side of the airplane.

And once we make sure that everyone's on board, then we'll start the left side of the airplane and we'll get moving for the President.

We're gonna use a 180 to the right hand side with the President on board.

The swift and safe passage of the President depends on the crew.

Over the past three decades, this legendary jet has continually traveled the globe and even embarked on dangerous missions to war zones.

It was interesting to see the Baghdad silhouetted on the sunset.

In November 2003, at the height of the Iraq war, the responsibility of transporting President George W.

Bush to war torn Baghdad fell to Air Force One.

By the time we circled in and landed, it was dark.

To avoid becoming a terrorist target, the crew hid Air Force One's identity with a fake call sign.

This enabled it to sneak in and land unannounced in a combat zone.

This covert mission was a success and President Bush met with the troops in Secret.

During Barack Obama's presidency, the Air Force decided to replace the aging aircraft.

BOEING Proposed building two specially designed next generation Air Force One planes based on the 7478 here in the world's largest factory building just outside Seattle.

But when President Donald Trump took office in 2017, he changed course.

The price was too high and the plane was just about ordered.

And I heard about it and I said, cancel the order.

Six months later, President Trump was briefed that after the bankruptcy of a Russian airline, Boeing had two unused 7478 planes lying in California's Mojave Desert.

And I bought the two planes and actually got a little more plane for the, for the dollar, not less plane.

It's not like, gee whiz, we left things off, we got more plane for the money.

Against the stark backdrop of the Mojave Desert rises the future Air Force One.

And National Geographic has special access to document its metamorphosis.

Compared to the existing Air Force one, this epic 7478 is a huge technological leap forward.

At 250ft, it is the longest passenger plane on the planet.

Its massively extended upper deck gives the plane over 20% more floor space.

The interior is bigger than an NBA basketball court.

Its wide wings with revolutionary carbon fiber saber shaped wingtips angle at 37.5 degrees.

This new shape not only allows the enormous plane to fly faster, but

also take off and land on extremely short Runway.

4 GE next generation engines power it up to nearly Mach 1, making this the fastest passenger jet aircraft on earth.

But transforming this colossus into Air Force One presents an enormous challenge which rests on the shoulders of this man, Bob Fuchs.

It's going to come with new technology, new capabilities that we're going to turn into something very presidential.

Bob is performing a last minute inspection on the plane before she flies to San Antonio, Texas, where she will receive her military makeover.

So as you can imagine, most of the interior of the airplane is going to be transformed.

But one of the things that we thought would be nice to stay with the airplane design was this staircase.

It's quite different from the current Air Force One staircase and we felt it'd be a good option to keep.

With the inspection complete, the pilots prepare for takeoff.

To become a military machine, this plane must defeat missiles, withstand nuclear radiation, serve as a flying White House and provide secure communications for the President to run the country.

When it lands at a high security facility in Texas.

Its transformation into the most important plane in the world will begin.

The future Air Force One is joining her identical twin in a highly secure hangar.

And National Geographic has special access to document their transformation into the next generation of Air Force One.

Called Big Texas by some, the hangar has 24.

7 surveillance and even odor tracking K9 units.

And it's the largest freestanding high bay hangar in the world.