"It's An Aircraft As Big As The Man Himself"

In a touching homecoming Friday, former first lady Nancy Reagan stepped aboard the airplane that had ferried her and her husband across the world during the eight years of Ronald Reagan's presidency. It was the first time she had been onboard the airplane in over 16 years.

This time, the Boeing 707, tail number 27000, remained firmly on the ground, displayed in a spectacular exhibit at the Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. The $31 million, three-story, 87,000-square-foot pavilion, presents the plane as if it were in flight, facing a huge glass window overlooking the mountains of western Simi Valley.

Crowds in attendance cheered as Reagan, accompanied by President Bush and his wife Laura toured the aircraft, and the pavilion housing an exhibit on the history of Air Force One and, especially, of 27000.

"I am proud to stand in this magnificent pavilion that is now home to a celebrated symbol of democracy and freedom," said President Bush. "You know, across this nation, Americans can visit many great memorials to the cause of liberty -- from a statue in a busy harbor whose arm carries high the flame of freedom, to a quiet field in Arlington filled with rows of white tombstones, to a mountainside in the heartland carved with the images of America's great leaders."

"Each evokes a sense of awe and wonder," said Bush. "But none can soar at more than 500 miles an hour, carrying freedom's message across oceans and continents."

Although fog blanketed Simi Valley -- spoiling the view from the pavilion and also requiring the Bushes to arrive by motorcade, instead of helicopter -- the weather did not matter to the 750 or so invited guests in attendance. Their attention was on the airplane.

"There's no more fitting place for it to be," said Reagan fan Corrine Clement to the Los Angeles Daily Bulletin. "It's an aircraft as big as the man himself."

Aircraft 27000 served seven presidents throughout its 30-plus year career, ferrying Richard Nixon to the Middle East, Gerald Ford to the Far East, and Reagan to summits with then-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The plane was retired during the presidency of Bill Clinton, who used the aircraft as a backup to the B747 ordered by Reagan and first used by the first President Bush.

Tail number 27000 flew 445 missions in service of the US president, according to media reports.

Nancy Reagan shared some memories of the aircraft her husband logged over 631,000 miles in. "This achievement is yours as well," she said, thanking the pilots and crew members attending a reunion at the dedication.

Stepping back onboard 27000 was "very nostalgic," said former Reagan military aide Lt. Col. Steve Chealander. "It smelled the same, it looked the same. It could not be better. It looks like it's taking off, fully restored in its original form. Everything you see inside is authentic."

The sentiment was shared by Lee F. Simmons, a steward on two planes used as Air Force One, serving presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford. "It was overwhelming," he said.

The airplane -- dubbed the "flying White House" -- is filled with artifacts and mementos from Reagan's eight-year term in office, according to the Daily Bulletin. Handwritten letters, flight jackets, and (of course) the president's favorite kind of jelly beans are displayed onboard.

"As visitors climb the stairs to the door of this airplane," said Nancy Reagan, "I hope they will feel as Ronnie and I did every time we arrived on foreign soil in faraway countries or returned safely home to American shores -- grateful for our many blessings."

"I can still see Ronnie, peering out the window in our cabin as he watched Washington disappear against the landscape," Mrs. Reagan said.

FMI: www.reaganlibrary.com/welcome