Thursday October 30, 2008 10:51 -0700

AIR FORCE ONE
A Golden Salute…
By Rick Broome

A Special Thanks to the United States Air Force Academy Graduating Class of 1999

As graduation approached for the USAF Academy Gold Class of 1999, America was deeply involved in the Air War over Yugoslavia. President Clinton had accepted an invitation to be commencement speaker for graduation; local press revealed harsh comments from retired military. Leadership within the Class discussed protocols of a gift of appreciation and floated an idea of merit. Why not give the Commander-In-Chief a special gift that expressed a symbol of flight, and their dedication to Air Force Core Values?

The class voted on the idea to commission me to create a painting of Air Force One over the Academy. The vote was nearly unanimous. Previous protocol had been to present the president with a plaque and sabre. When President Clinton spoke to the graduating class of 1995, his gift was lost between the Academy and Washington. It was never found and difficult to replace. The class had also presented the president with print number One of their Class painting "In the Eye of an Eagle.

A number of discussions were held with various members of the class as well as senior USAF leadership during the period of time the project was in the approval stage. Normally a commissioned work takes me on average two years to complete. I have averaged about 50 commissions a year for almost thirty years. This commission was going to require a lock down in the studio with all niters for most of the month. I cut canvas in early May.

Research for information is the critical first step in the birth of any of my original paintings. Fortunately, the Boeing 747 is an aircraft I am very familiar with. It is one of my favorites too. I worked on the jet as an A&P mechanic when with United Airlines. I flew the airplane on a Braniff / United training flight and have painted it for private collectors a number of times.

The Air Force One Boeing 747 is no ordinary airplane, however. I put out a call for help to some graduate friends and was immediately put in touch with the right folks at the wing. The president's pilot is a USAFA Gold Class of 1975. He sent me an e-mail noting he was hammered with a flood of e-mails and messages to assist me with critical details unique to his aircraft. The next day we had a lengthy visit and laughed over the fact that he was on the golf course when his phone/pager started the flurry of important messages. The Wing Commander provided the platform for the "assist" and the OPS Group Commander coordinated communications.

I was surprised to learn there are very few photos of Air Force One in flight. This is because no aircraft are allowed to get close enough to photograph the "Flying White House." Mark was able to provide me with excellent research material, however, including a personally created hand drawing with notations of differences in the engine cowlings. Windows and doors were another consideration as were antennae's and the aircraft's unique airstair.

I initially started painting the background on May 10^th. Originally I had envisioned painting the background with an orientation toward Littleton, Colorado with Blue and Silver colors. I shared this with the Rampart Chapter of the AOG at their May luncheon. I grew up in Littleton attending Middle School at Colorado Academy and two years of High School at Littleton. The very recent tragedy at Columbine High School was on my mind.

Shortly after I started the background I showed the painting to several members of the graduating class and we discussed my originally planned background. Where it was true that a tribute to the Columbine High School tragedy was a wonderful gesture; it really had no relationship to the purpose of this painting. Later that evening I changed the orientation to reflect the true purpose of this work of art and positioned the 747 at 9,999 feet over Falcon Stadium looking toward the cadet area. This view provided a surprise, as I was able to also depict the Collegian Mountain Range including Mnt. Princeton, Harvard, Yale, and Stanford. I thought this would have meaning to the President.

Other than the non-stop work schedule the painting was routine to create and was completed on May 28^th. Strict guidelines were imposed regarding my trademarked style of hiding symbols in the background of the painting. All items were submitted and approved. There are no hidden vignettes of symbolism such as I have captured in my years as an aviation artist and historian. The full moon above Air Force One is a special symbol of hope and a tribute incorporated into most of my original paintings since 1974. This is to honor my dear friend the late Colonel Jim Irwin, Apollo 15.

I should pause for a moment to thank my family. During the creative process of the painting, I worked non-stop pausing only when necessary for naps. One session's logs showed a one-hour nap over a 32-hour period. My wife Billie and son James ran the business smoothly while I painted and we all had a lot of fun. Our six year old grandson was very excited to spend time watching "Grampy" create a painting for the President of the United States. I hid his name in the background.

After the original was completed we spent a small fortune having it prepared for a forthcoming series of limited edition lithographic prints. Normally the very expensive photographing and proofing preparation to create a lithograph will be three or four weeks. Extra funds were required to do it in one day!

We were able to put the original on display at several graduation functions in order to show as many cadets and Academy personal as possible what had been created. We had a wonderful visit and I showed everyone where I had hidden a silver 65 in tribute to their graduating class. They told me they were sure the President would love the painting and that he was very fond of Air Force One.

The next day was graduation and following the President's commencement speech he was presented the painting as a gift from the graduating Class of 1999. Fall semester the Wing Commander and President of the Class held the painting for all to see while the Wing Commander delivered his speech from memory. In watching the video of the presentation and talking later with all three presenters, the fact is that the president was mesmerized by the work of art. He could not keep his eyes off it and had a big smile too.

Later that evening I received an e-mail from a USAFA '81grad. The grad and I first met when he was a cadet. The grad wrote: " Rick, I just met the President on his arrival here at Andrews and asked him about your painting. He smiled broadly and commented that it is "great" and went on to describe in detail the scene. Have no doubts--he likes it.

A special engraved gold plaque was affixed to the picture frame. It says: "Presented to the Commander-In Chief. A symbol of our dedication the Air Force Core Values -- Integrity, Service and Excellence. From the United States Air Force Academy Class of 1999.