First 'Air Force One' jet getting spruced up at Seattle Museum of Flight

The very first air force one jet, is getting some much-needed love ahead of a big celebration this summer.

One of the most iconic planes in American history is getting some much-needed care.

“We clean, we polish, maintain, and preserve it, so we do it all,” said Evan Elliot with the museum of flight.

Dozens of volunteers are scrubbing, scraping and polishing, inside and out, to get this plane back to its original luster.

“Out here in the Seattle weather it makes its mark, and mother nature takes advantage of it, so we have to get it cleaned up every year,” said Renny Doyle, founder of ‘Detailing Success.’



The Boeing 707 was the very first air force one jet, and it stayed in service for decades, carrying some of the most important American leaders.

“It served President Kennedy, and then also Nixon, and it partook in the peace talks over in Paris, during the Vietnam War,” said Doyle. “It served all the way into the Clinton administration before it was housed here in Seattle.”

The entire cleaning project will take about two weeks to complete, but it’s a labor of love.

“It`s a long process, we`re gonna probably have in the area of about 8,000 man hours, volunteer man hours during the entire project,” said Doyle.

Once it’s finished, the plane will be put in a new pavilion at the Museum of Flight, becoming one of the show pieces for Boeing’s 100th anniversary celebration this summer.

“This is like a crown jewel for the museum. It’s such an important historical piece. So many presidents have flown in this plane, so it’s our job to help preserve this plane,” said Elliot.

Volunteers will also be cleaning several other jets, including the first Boeing 727, and 747 prototypes.

The museum says, visitors are allowed to walk around the planes and ask questions, during the cleaning process.