I had no idea that area east of the Amarillo airport was an old SAC base. that one neighborhood over there is obviously old base housing.

CanyonAg77 said:

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Paint shop in Amarillo is still in business, they are even building a new hanger. Currently they use an old B-52 hanger from the Amarillo AFB days. I assume the new hanger is for planes bigger than a B-52

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Hangar

CanyonAg77 said:

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Bell helicopter used the old B-52 hangers in the 60s and maybe up until the 80s. When they came back to build the Osprey, they built all new facilities

The legend is that LBJ shut down Amarillo AFB, but the timeline does not match.

And I'm a bit confused as to how 15-year-old LBJ put Tech in Lubbock in 1923

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You may be right Canyon, sorry (and undoubtedly you know the area/history better than I do). It's an old story I've heard a few times. Could be the medical school? I dunno.

And, to be fair, the AFB could also be an old wives tale, as it was announced between his election/inauguration, but again I'd heard it more than a few times, and one would think LBJ as the POTUS from Texas winning a landslide election, coulda flipped that if he had wanted to. Just my two cents.

Tech got a law school and a med school after LBJ. That was more from the Gov of Texas at the time, a Tech grad.

Also why Lubbock had an Interstate that just goes to Amarillo

fc2112 said:

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https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/17/us/new-af1-paint-job

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Quote:

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The dark blue paint posing a problem is quickly debunked by paint schemes as dark being used by Arabian based airlines

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Don't think dark color scheme was a problem for SR-71, flies both higher and faster than AF-1. No one worried about electronic/electrical components overheating due to the color scheme.

96AgGrad said:

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I get this reference and I very much appreciate it.

The whole plane also stretched by about 18 inches at top speed (and leaked fuel when slower as a result of the expansion having to be factored in, part of the reason it almost always had to be refueled in air, by the special KC-135's modified to do so for the kerosene version required).

Fascinating aircraft in all respects, it was actually only speed-limited by the engine temps, but was an expensive aircraft to operate.

The VC-25B again had a 'few components' that might exceed their rated thermal limits when sitting on a hot tarmac, not at altitude.

TacosaurusRex said:

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torrid said:

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Teslag said:

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I like the old colors better. Iconic and have been in use for decades and known to the world.

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But Trump thinks he is going to have JFK's legacy.

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Well the left does keep trying to shoot him.

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Rapier108 said:

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By the time the AF actually gets the planes, the Democrat in office will have it changed back.

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They'll want to paint it solid red with a raised fist on the tail.

The new livery looks more American than the old livery. I'm not sure real sure why the current one is baby blue unless whoever did that was a Houston Oilers fan which I also can respect.

YouBet said:

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The new livery looks more American than the old livery. I'm not sure real sure why the current one is baby blue unless whoever did that was a Houston Oilers fan which I also can respect.

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Jackie Kennedy picked the current scheme, which is part of why the Dems consider it sacred.

After the new ones are painted, they need to announce that Melania designed them, and watch liberal heads explode.

CanyonAg77 said:

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YouBet said:

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The new livery looks more American than the old livery. I'm not sure real sure why the current one is baby blue unless whoever did that was a Houston Oilers fan which I also can respect.

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Jackie Kennedy picked the current scheme, which is part of why the Dems consider it sacred.

After the new ones are painted, they need to announce that Melania designed them, and watch liberal heads explode.

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I would just continue to tell them that JFK would be a Republican in 2026.

CanyonAg77 said:

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YouBet said:

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The new livery looks more American than the old livery. I'm not sure real sure why the current one is baby blue unless whoever did that was a Houston Oilers fan which I also can respect.

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Jackie Kennedy picked the current scheme, which is part of why the Dems consider it sacred.

After the new ones are painted, they need to announce that Melania designed them, and watch liberal heads explode.

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Yes and she had French-born Raymond Loewy design it.

To be fair, he was sort of a big deal at the time:

Quote:

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Loewy owned the largest design firm in New York. He had designed Lucky Strike cigarettes, Studebaker cars, Coca-Cola bottle and Electrolux refrigerators. The press called him The Man Who Streamlined America.

First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, with her unerring sense of style, lobbied the president to hire the French-born Loewy.

Loewy met with the president twice. The first time, he and Kennedy sat on the floor of the Oval Office drawing with crayons and cutting up paper to come up with a livery for Air Force One.

Then Loewy visited the National Archives to examine historic documents. He was struck by the first printed copy of the Declaration of Independence; it had the new country's name set widely spaced in capital letters in a typeface known as Caslon.

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It's actually sort of funny how terrible the previous scheme was.

ETA: imagine how funny it would be if the leftist propagandists like CNN had a story about Trump sitting down on the floor of the Oval Office with some designer with crayons to discuss the paint scheme. But I don't remember reading about JFK being criticized over that.

nortex97 said:

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The whole plane also stretched by about 18 inches at top speed (and leaked fuel when slower as a result of the expansion having to be factored in, part of the reason it almost always had to be refueled in air, by the special KC-135's modified to do so for the kerosene version required).

Fascinating aircraft in all respects, it was actually only speed-limited by the engine temps, but was an expensive aircraft to operate.

The VC-25B again had a 'few components' that might exceed their rated thermal limits when sitting on a hot tarmac, not at altitude.

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That was my understanding of the temperature thing. Not in flight but when the airplane spends days sitting on foreign ramps but up and running and fully operational as the mobile WH and/or Command Post for the traveling President.

I always took it as a sour grapes view of a problem that, while it might be legitimate, could be easily addressed with minimal engineering. It was a problem that didn't exist with Jackie Kennedy's light blue and they thought maybe Meannie Trump's dark navy blue might cause a problem. Therefore... REEEEEEE!!!!

The previous scheme was not just for AF1. It was for almost all AF aircraft of the time. Bright orange nose and tail for high visibility.



Thanks for the additional info on the Jackie Kennedy design

reineraggie09 said:

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There used to be a big paint shop in Amarillo. Was always fun to see random jumbos parked next to the airport waiting to get panted. Don't know if it is still operational.

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It is.