Joe Biden’s administration is scrapping the new paint scheme for Air Force One that was ordered by President Donald Trump, arguing that it would generate too much heat for the aircraft.
A U.S. official told Reuters that the darker colors of Trump’s red, white, and blue theme “might contribute” to higher temperatures.
The current exterior color scheme on Air Force One is white with two shades of blue.
The scheme was put in place during former President John F. Kennedy’s administration.
The 45th president wanted a more patriotic theme for the aircraft but “the Trump paint scheme is not being considered because it could drive additional engineering, time and cost,” an administration official said.
However, the planes won’t be delivered until 2026 so it may be unlikely that Democrat President Biden will get a say in the color scheme if his approval numbers are anything to go by.
Wow. Biden’s approval rating is under 50% among Black voters in new Quinnipiac poll. 24% among Hispanics, 22% among 18-34 yr olds. The only two groups giving him majority approval: Dems and college-educated whites. pic.twitter.com/voembPdHP4
— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) June 8, 2022
On Wednesday, an Air Force spokeswoman gave the first hint of the coming change saying Trump’s darker colors on the underside of Air Force One “might contribute to temperatures exceeding the current qualification limits of a small number of components.”
In 2018, Boeing Co got the $3.9 billion contract to build two 747-8 aircraft for use as Air Force One.
Trump beat them up pretty badly during the negotiations and now they are claiming they will lose close to a billion on the deal.
From CNBC:
Boeing disclosed Wednesday that it has lost a whopping $1.1 billion in costs related to its deal with the Trump administration to modify two 747 jumbo jets to serve as Air Force One — and CEO Dave Calhoun admitted the aviation giant “probably” should not have cut the deal in the first place.
Even more losses on the Air Force One contract could be coming in future quarters, Boeing warned in a regulatory filing.
Air Force One is the official designation for any plane carrying the president of the United States.
“Air Force One I’m just going to call a very unique moment, a very unique negotiation, a very unique set of risks that Boeing probably shouldn’t have taken,” Calhoun said on a call with analysts.
“But we are where we are, and we’re going to deliver great airplanes,” Calhoun said, shortly after Boeing reported a loss for the first quarter of 2022.
“And we’re going to recognize the costs associated with it.”
Boeing on Wednesday disclosed a net loss of $1.2 billion for the first quarter, with a charge of $660 million associated with delays and higher costs for the Air Force One program.
