Where 14 Retired Presidential Aircraft Have Ended Up: Museums, Libraries, and Boneyards
Why It MattersRetired VIP transport aircraft typically transition into museum or archival roles rather than resale, reflecting how specialized government fleets rarely re-enter commercial or private operation once decommissioned.
What happened
The 89th Airlift Wing, based at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, operates the VIP fleet that transports the president, vice president, Cabinet members, and other government officials, and over the decades a series of retired presidential aircraft have been distributed to museums, presidential libraries, and in some cases boneyards. Fourteen aircraft trace this path, from the Independence (1947-1965), the first plane built for Truman's use, to the Gulfstream Aerospace C-20B (1988-2015), used by Clinton during his presidency and by Ford, Carter, and H.W. Bush afterward as former presidents.
Among the named aircraft: Columbine II (1953-1968), first aircraft to use the call sign "Air Force One" and the only presidential aircraft ever sold to a private owner, now undergoing restoration in Bridgewater, Virginia; Columbine III (1954-1966), the only Lockheed VC-121E ever built; the VC-137B nicknamed "Freedom One" (1959-1998), which transported 52 American hostages held in Iran for 444 days back to the US in January 1981 and is now displayed at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona; SAM 970 (1959-1996), the first jet to serve as Air Force One, now at the Museum of Flight in Seattle; and SAM 26000 (1962-1998), which carried eight presidents from Kennedy to Clinton and is where Johnson took the oath of office after Kennedy's assassination. Also included are the Douglas VC-118A Liftmaster (1961-1965), the last propeller-driven presidential aircraft; the VC-140B jets nicknamed "Air Force One Half" (1961-1987) by Johnson, now displayed at the LBJ Ranch in Stonewall, Texas, and the Pima museum; the "Lady Bird Special" VC-6A (1966-1985); and the VC-9C (1975-2011), which flew as Air Force Two across seven presidencies.
A current point of uncertainty involves a $400 million VC-25B Bridge accepted as a gift from Qatar. President Donald Trump said in May that he intended for it to go on display at his future presidential library in Florida. Eric Trump told The Palm Beach Post in August that a recently retired modified Boeing 747 — the VC-25A known as SAM 29000 — was planned for that installation instead, leaving the VC-25B Bridge's final destination unclear.
Industry impact & what to watch
The disposition of these aircraft follows a consistent government pattern: once a presidential transport is replaced by a newer model, it is handed to a museum or presidential library for public display rather than sold or scrapped, with Columbine II's private sale standing as the only exception across the fourteen aircraft described. This reflects how specialized military and VIP aircraft, once decommissioned, generally remain within institutional custody rather than re-entering any commercial market.
The unresolved placement of the VC-25B Bridge shows how a gifted aircraft's final home can remain undecided even after a president states an intention, since the family's stated plans shifted from the VC-25B to the VC-25A SAM 29000 for the Florida library. Whether the VC-25B Bridge ultimately joins a library, a museum, or another facility will depend on statements yet to come from the Trump family or the Air Force regarding its intended display site.
