Pilot Quiz - Aicraft of U.S. Presidents

Key to Answers: 1-b, 2-a, 3-a, 4-c, 5-a, 6-b, 7-c, 8-a, 9-b, 10-b

Air Force One is a well-known call sign, but what do you know about the President's airplane and the travels of U.S. Presidents? Try this quiz to find out.

1. In the mid 1950s, Air Force One became the call sign for any airplane carrying the U.S. President. Why was this chosen?

a. The U.S. Air Force always used its newest transport airplane to carry the President
b. An airplane carrying the President had a call sign ending in the same numbers as an Eastern Airlines flight when on a similar route and this caused the pilot to be concerned about possible confusion by air traffic control
c. The Air Force was separated from the Army to become an independent arm of military and punsters thought the call sign would seem to many "Air Force WON"

2. What is the call sign of the helicopter when carrying the President from the White House to Andrews Air Force base?

a. Marine One
b. Helicopter One
c. Air Force One

3. Who was the first President to fly to the political convention that nominated him?

a. Herbert Hoover
b. Franklin D. Roosevelt
c. Dwight D. Eisenhower

4. When going to a meeting with Winston Churchill in 1943, President Franklin Roosevelt was the first President to cross the Atlantic by air. In what airplane was the trip made?

a. U.S. Army transport
b. U.S. Navy amphibian
c. Pan American Airlines Atlantic Clipper

5. The first military transport airplane officially designated to carry the President was delivered in June 1944. What was it?

a. Douglas VC-54C
b. Martin 404
c. Lockheed Electra

6. When Harry Truman assumed the presidency after the death of Franklin Roosevelt, a new DC-6 was delivered for Presidential travel. Truman wanted to separate himself from FDR and changed the President's airplane name from Roosevelt's Sacred Cow. What was the new name?

a. Stars and Stripes
b. Independence
c. The Missourian

7. Who was the first Chief Executive to fly in a jet airplane?

a. Harry Truman
b. Dwight D. Eisenhower
c. John F. Kennedy

8. Because he suffered from illness and severe back pain, one President was often hoisted into the President's airplane at Andrews Air Force Base. Who was that President?

a. John F. Kennedy
b. Jimmy Carter
c. George H.W. Bush

9. What President inaugurated the use of helicopters to fly from the White House?

a. Harry Truman
b. Dwight D. Eisenhower
c. John F. Kennedy

10. Why did one flight of Air Force One change from that call sign to a standard Air Force number in the middle of a flight?

a. To protect the president during the early hours of the 9-11 terrorists attacks
b. Nixon leaving office
c. It was approaching airspace of unfriendly nation

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