"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.