Donald Trump’s iconic Boeing 757 jet will soon take to the skies once again after a remodel in Louisiana, the former president announced on Wednesday.
The ex-leader was known to use it for his dramatic arrivals to campaign stops on the 2016 trail, where it was nicknamed ‘Trump Force One.’
But the plane has been largely idle since its eponymous owner entered the White House in 2017.
‘During my four years in the White House, I didn’t use everybody’s favorite airplane, the Boeing 757 we campaigned on for our big 2016 WIN,’ Trump wrote on his social media app Truth Social.
‘Now it has been completely modernized and renovated, and looks GREAT, all done in the Great State of Louisiana, and coming back to the skies in the Fall of 2022, or maybe sooner. Get ready!’
At the end of his post Trump linked a video that appears to show sped-up footage of the refinishing process.
The four minutes’ worth of footage shows crews working on the private jet’s engines and exterior finish, and is set against cinematic music.
Its signature black-red-white coloring with ‘Trump’ emblazoned in gold lettering still remains.
However the tail, once covered with a red ‘T,’ now bears an American flag.
Donald Trump claimed his signature private jet would be back in the skies as early as this fall
He shared a video to his app Truth Social showing a montage of his plane’s refinishing process
Instead of a red ‘T,’ the tail of Trump Force One now features an American flag
It’s possibly yet another hint that the former president is considering a third White House bid to avert attention from the January 6 committee’s explosive probe that alleges Trump and his allies tried to subvert democracy.
The redesign also comes a month after Politico reported the Biden administration scrapped Trump’s planned redesign for Air Force One.
Trump’s proposal included a dark blue underbelly that would have led to hotter temperatures on part of the plane, an official told the outlet. The extra cost to keep the plane cool was reason enough for Biden’s staff to nix it altogether.
It appears the company behind the work is called Landlocked Aviation, a company that specializing in aircraft refinishing based in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
According to the business’ website, it’s also worked on aircraft belonging to Delta Airlines, the US military, and World War II-era planes.
After being sparsely used by Trump Organization executives for the first two years of the ex-president’s term, Trump Force One sat at Stewart International Airport in upstate New York.
The ex-president unveiled his plane a month after the Biden administration reportedly scrapped Trump’s proposal to redesign Air Force One (which he is pictured sitting behind a model of in 2019)
Photos obtained by DailyMail.com in January 2021 show the plane in a state of disrepair, seemingly missing an engine.
The report seemingly angered Trump, who hit back in a statement through his Save America PAC.
‘The story is Fake News about my plane being ‘mothballed’ in Stewart Airfield in Newburgh, New York, because ‘I didn’t think I would need it until 2025,’ the former president.
‘My plane, a Boeing 757, is going through a major scheduled maintenance program, which will be completed in approximately 90 days. It will then be put back into service.’
It was flown to Louisiana in November of last year after its Rolls Royce engines were replaced, where KPLC reported it was being serviced at Chennault International Airport.
Trump’s Boeing 757 had been sitting at Stewart Airport from 2019 until November 2021
The port side engine was covered in a protective coating with a new one reportedly needed
Trump sought cash from his supporters to help fund the plane’s makeover as recently as this past March.
‘I need to trust that you won’t share it with anyone: my team is building a BRAND NEW Trump Force One,’ he said in a fundraising email through his Save America PAC.
‘The construction of this plane has been under wraps – not even the fake news media knows about it – and I can’t wait to unveil it for everyone to see.’
While the massive jet lacks the security and medical details needed to transport the leader of the free world, reports suggest Trump’s plane provided an opulent experience in itself.
Gold seatbelts and bathroom fixtures, as well as two bedrooms, a dining room and an entertainment system make up the interior of Trump’s plane, according to accounts.
It’s not clear how much of the interior was affected by the refinish.