Air Force One has landed in Simi Valley, CA as an exhibit at the Ronald Reagan Library.
The exhibit which opened on Monday October 24, 2005, will display a fully operational Air Force One airplane, along with the Marine One and Reagan’s presidential motorcade limousine. Marine One is the helicopter that is used by presidents, when being transported from the White House to the airport. Marine One is a converted Blackhawk military helicopter designed just for the president.
“The completion of this project is the realization of Ronnie’s dream to attract individuals from all walks of life to his library to learn about the presidency and American leadership,” said Nancy Reagan, widow of former president Ronald Reagan.
This Air Force One was brought to Simi Valley in pieces on many different big rigs by way of the 118 freeway, after it was decommissioned in 2001.. The exhibit is contained in its own gallery on the libraries property, and is the last gallery at the end of the tour. This was the first plane dubbed Air Force One. It served such presidents as Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, and George W. Bush. Visitors can tour the airplane cabin and visit the areas where Reagan once conducted business.
This includes his state room, “the Oval Office in the Air,” and the communications center from which the plane is run. The Reagan Pub, flown in from Ballyporeen, Ireland, was renamed for Reagan on a goodwill mission there in 1984. The pub was re-created and placed on the bottom level of the Air Force One pavilion.
The building is designed with a 200-foot-wide by 60-foot-wide glass wall that makes the free-standing plane seem ready take off out of the pavilion.
The exhibit is open daily from 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. For more information, visit the website at www.reaganlibrary.com or call 1-(800)-410-8354.
