Lockheed Constellation Was First Airplane To Carry The Designation

A Lockheed VC 121 Constellation built in 1948 that is baking in the Arizona sun was reportedly the first airplane in the nation's history to carry the designation "Air Force One."

The online news aggregator The Blaze reports that, according to Steve Miller, manager of the Marana Regional Airport (KAVQ) in Marana, AZ, the airplane is "one of those big secrets that really, few people know."

According to a report in the Arizona Daily Star, the Connie ... named Columbine II after the state flower of Colorado where Mamie Daud was married to Dwight Eisenhower at her parents' home ... was used for a short time by Pan Am as an airliner before being converted for VIP use by the government. While previous Presidents had used airplanes for travel, the VC 121 was the first to be designated "Air Force One" with President Eisenhower aboard.

The Constellation last flew as a Presidential transport on October 25, 1959. It was officially retired in 1968, and "stripped of its identity and fitted with mismatched landing gear." When it was sold at auction in 1970 to Mel Christler of Christler Flying Service, he had no idea of the plane's history. It underwent a $150,000 restoration, and went back on public display in 1990, making the rounds of air shows for a few years.

But when it was again put on the block, it failed to sell. It's been sitting on the ramp at KAVQ since 2005.

The once-opulent aircraft with marble floors now "just looks like any old, beat-up aircraft sitting there," Miller said.

The plane's current caretaker, Timothy Coons, is looking for a museum that might want to undertake another restoration project. "We're trying to find it a good home," he told the paper.

Another example of an Eisenhower administration Air Force One ... Columbine III ... has been restored and is on display at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, OH.

(Columbine III pictured in public domain image.)

FMI: www.whitehousemuseum.org/special/AF1/