Lockheed VC-140B Jetstar (Air Force One)

The Lockheed VC-140B Jetstar (Air Force One) was the military version of the Lockheed Model 1329 business jet, the first business jet built in quantity for the civilian market. The United States Air Force acquired six of them to transport the President and other high ranking officials and heads of state. They were assigned to Andrews AFB and could operate from runways too small for the larger USAF jet transports. The Lockheed VC-140B Jetstar flew Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan, but was never considered the prime Presidential aircraft. The two prime Air Force One jet were the much larger and more capable Boeing VC-137s (707). The Jetstars could attain a maximum speed of 598 miles per hour and could fly as high as 45,000 feet, but only had a range of 2’200mile and were limited to six passengers. One of these Jetstars is on display at the National Museum of theUnited States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio.