Day before yesterday (Saturday, October 14) twelve of us bay area pilots flew to Castle Air Museum at the old Castle AFB (MER), and a new attraction since I last visited is a VC-9 (VIP configured Douglas DC-9) that was operated by the 89th Airlift Wing until it was donated by GSA to the museum. The tail number is 31681, and there were two sister airplanes similarly configured, 31682 and 31683. They were replaced by B-737s designated C-40B. Since the VC-9's range is only 1600 nm, it wasn't flown much internationally but was used to get in and out of smaller domestic airports that couldn't accommodate the 747 and earlier 707 airplanes used for Air Force One. 31681 was Air Force One when carrying Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush, but was used mostly for transporting first ladies and cabinet members.
The docent said there were twelve radios on board, including HF, and the crew always included the captain, first officer, and a radio operator. Later, the airplane was retrofitted with secure military communications satellite facilities. All of the seating was first class with leather upholstery, and a chunk of cabin real estate was devoted to the galley. The VC-9s were in service with the 89th Airlift Wing for more than thirty years.
Photo by Frank C. Duarte, Jr. on Airliners.net