Historic Presidential Plane Retired

W A S H I N G T O N, Aug. 29 -- If wings could talk, what stories we might hear from Tail No. 27000 — the Air Force One jet being retired this week.

When President Nixon resigned in disgrace and left Washington for early retirement, he and his tearful family flew aboard 27000, a sleek blue, white and silver Boeing 707, a symbol of American power and prestige.

Now, more than a quarter of a century later, after 1 million frequent flier miles, 27000 is retiring, too. Unlike former residents of the White House, the plane will not be writing any memoirs to reveal the tears and drama witnessed in that cozy presidential compartment.

The plane carried more commanders in chief than any other in history through particularly dramatic times: Ronald Reagan to Berlin to demand the Wall be torn down, Jimmy Carter to greet the hostages released by Iran. It was the primary aircraft for presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan, a time of Cold War — then détente with the Russians, years of domestic turmoil over Vietnam and a weak economy. Today, President Bush was its passenger on a final flight in Texas.

Wherever it flew, 27000 was breathtaking — and had a Secret Service code name: Angel. It was almost as famous as its twin, 26000 — the plane with the sad duty to fly home with the body of President Kennedy after his assassination. That aircraft is now in a military museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.

The Boeing 707s were considered a little cramped by the 1980s. President Reagan ordered new twin jumbo jets, 747s, replete with TV monitors and telephones in every cabin, a hospital operating room, even a presidential shower. But the new aircraft did not arrive in time for Reagan's final flight home from the White House.

Now, like its boss, 27000 is flying into retirement in California. But this craft will be in plane sight, open to visitors at the Reagan library.