The Boeing 757 used by then-candidate Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign has been upgraded and renovated, according to Trump.
June’s announcement by the former president in a Twitter post added fuel to speculation Trump planned another presidential campaign. That talk grew in intensity after CNN reported Friday that “Trump Force One” is now stationed in West Palm Beach, Florida, after undergoing a series of what are presumed test flights.
The Boeing airliner that was a familiar background prop for Trump on the 2016 campaign trail has twice flown a series of short flight loops at different altitudes, according to a CNN report. The report noted data studied by the network showed some flights lasted less than 10 minutes and did not fly higher than 3,000 feet. Other flights lasted longer — 20 to 30 minutes — and reached altitudes between two miles and four miles high.
“It is common after a plane has had upgrades – or other new equipment or general avionic tweaks – for pilots to make a series of test flights to ensure safety and function,” said Peter Goelz, a former managing director of the National Transportation Safety Board. “The series of passes at different altitudes, such as the ones completed in Louisiana, are indicative of standard checks.”
News of upgrades and test flights is significant because the luxury liner was previously mothballed at Stewart Airport a little north of Manhattan. The Boeing jet that the 45th president purchased from Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen spent 2019-2021 on the small New York state airport’s tarmac with one engine shrink-wrapped, the report noted.
It is unlikely Trump would spend the money to overhaul and test the plane and have it moved to an airport about a 15-minute drive from Mar-a-Lago without a good reason.
No better reason exists for the former campaign stalwart to be refurbished in preparation for another presidential campaign.
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