Perk of Reagan’s Presidential Library: Retired Air Force One Access

In this installment of ‘History Off the Beaten Path,’ we visit the only museum to feature a president’s plane that visitors can actually enter.

Ronald Reagan's Air Force One is housed in the impressive Air Force One Pavilion at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. Deena C. Bouknight

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum has many artifacts typical to a presidential library, such as historical documents, artifacts, interactive exhibits, and photographs. But it has one item that captures the attention immediately: A retired Air Force One jet is on display.

Perched high on a hill in Simi Valley, California, with vast views of the Tierra Rejada Valley and mountain ranges beyond, the 400-acre site opened to the public in 1991.

Reagan attended the opening of his library in 1991, along with former presidents George Bush, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, and Richard Nixon, as well as the former first ladies. However, Reagan died in 2004, a year before the Air Force One SAM 27000, a Boeing 707, became the only open-to-the-public presidential plane at a U.S. president’s library. 

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library looks out over the hills of southern California. Deena C. Bouknight

A Museum of Surprises

History buffs, Reagan fans, school groups, and more are drawn to the library and museum for what’s offered inside over 100,000 square feet of museum space. The 24 galleries films about the 40th president’s life, plus, a full-scale reproduction of the Oval Office during Reagan’s time in office. It’s impressive for its details, including a jar of jellybeans—his favorite snack—on his desk.

Until visitors enter and are presented a map and brochure, few realize that they will actually be able to board, walk through, and view rooms in an Air Force One plane that was occupied by seven presidents. Reagan was its most frequent flyer. During his presidency, from January 1981 to January 1989, he flew more than 675,000 miles to 26 foreign countries and 46 U.S. states.

Highlighted at the library and museum is the fact that Reagan’s most noteworthy travels on Air Force One involved visits to Mikhail Gorbachev, when he was general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. A Reagan quote shared with visitors to the Air Force One pavilion is one from April 23, 1986:

“As we lift off aboard Air Force One ... the winds of freedom will be propelling my mission. … As I fly westward over our majestic land, I go knowing that we’re witnessing an awakening to those self–evident truths to which our forefathers pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.”

Former President Ronald Reagan's quotes abound at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. Deena C. Bouknight

Getting the 152-foot long plane, with a wingspan of 145 feet, into an exhibit space at the library was no easy task. A detailed exhibit provides photography of the process.

Following Air Force One SAM 27000’s decommissioning in September 2001, it was disassembled over nine weeks by a nine-person crew from Boeing. Then, on June 21, 2003, the sections were packed onto a specially designed trailer and driven from San Bernardino International Airport to the Reagan library.

To house the plane, a massive pavilion was constructed adjacent to the main Reagan library. This atrium has 60-foot ceilings and an expansive floor-to-ceiling glass window supported by 51-foot-tall bow trusses.

A section of the pavilion was initially left open so that the sections of the plane could be reassembled and the plane rolled into place. Once the remainder of the structure was completed to house Air Force One SAM 27000, and the plane was repainted and polished, it was ready to welcome the public on Oct. 24, 2005.

The massive atrium designed to house Air Force One is a marvel of architecture and engineering. Deena C. Bouknight

Visitors can view the small cockpit area as they board the plane, as well as the multi-paneled communications and intelligence station, which includes secure telephone lines and computers from the 1980s. Toward the front of the plane is a food station, complete with presidential china.

State Room One, where Reagan worked while flying, is set up with a desk, phones, and jar of jelly beans. There is also the First Lady’s stateroom, a board room, a staff and guest compartment, a kitchen galley, and seating for press. The presidential seal is prominent on walls, seatbelt buckles, notebooks, and jackets throughout the plane.

It’s a thoroughly authentic experience. The plane is mounted at a 2-degree tilt to mimic the in-flight experience. Even the original air conditioning system is still installed. Photographs of Reagan interacting with the flight crew, intelligence crew, his wife, reporters, and staff, transport visitors back in time.

On Nov. 21, 1988, then-President Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy Reagan broke ground for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. Public Domain

Upon leaving the Air Force One Pavilion, visitors can meander to an outside memorial garden where Reagan is buried. Perhaps it’s fitting that both the illustrious Reagan and the emblematic aircraft on which he spent so much time are celebrated in the same location.

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