President to Finally Get New Jet--2 Years Late and Over Budget

The Boeing Co. will deliver a new Air Force One presidential plane in September, almost two years late and millions of dollars over budget, the aircraft manufacturer said Thursday.

The delay was attributed to a decision that wiring on the 747 jumbo jet had to be modified to withstand a thermonuclear attack, a Boeing spokeswoman said.

“We are sorry the airplane is delayed but we want it to be the best airplane in the world, and when it is finished it will be,” spokeswoman Carolyn Russell said.

Air Force Lt. Col. Darrell Hayes said the plane will be equipped with 85 telephones, more than a dozen television sets and videocassette recorders, a freezer big enough to feed 100 people for a week and a private presidential bedroom suite.

Boeing signed a fixed-cost contract with the Air Force to deliver two Air Force One aircraft for $250 million. That price has been revised to about $260 million, but Russell said Boeing does not intend to seek additional funding.

A backup Air Force One is expected to be delivered in early 1991 from Boeing facilities in Wichita, Kan., Boeing said.

The modified 747 has proved to be a presidential-sized headache for Boeing, which initially promised to deliver the plane in late 1988--in time for former President Ronald Reagan to return to California after leaving office.

The delay began when it was decided that the plane’s extensive communications system must be shielded from thermonuclear attack. The wiring had to be hardened to prevent electromagnetic pulses from burning it.

In addition, a new Federal Aviation Administration directive forced Boeing to rewire the fire-suppression system in the plane’s baggage compartment.

Boeing previously had refused to disclose the revised delivery date, in part because of continuing negotiations with the Air Force over final production modifications.