The plane was used by Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Clinton and both Bushes.

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) – A jumbo jet that flew seven presidents as Air Force One was carefully towed along an interstate and up a winding mountain road to its retirement home at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

The body of the blue-and-white Boeing 707, with the “United States of America” painted along its 153-foot-long sides, was hauled by truck Saturday, while a second truck pulled a flatbed trailer with the 68-foot wings.

At one point in its 100-mile slow-speed journey from San Bernardino, the plane had to be hydraulically lowered to clear an overpass.

As Air Force One, the plane was used by Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Reagan, Bill Clinton and both Bushes before it was retired from service in 2001, according to Boeing Co.

“When Boeing built this airplane 30 years ago, we knew it would take presidents to important events that would shape our global history,” said Rudy deLeon, senior vice president for Boeing. “It is with the same pride that we had in building this airplane that we move it to the Reagan Library.”

The plane, which will be reassembled and opened as an exhibit next year at the library, joins only one other former Air Force One on official public display. A jet that served presidents John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and Nixon is on display at the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio.


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