Hear the words ‘Air Force One’ and the chances are the aircraft you picture is not a propeller-driven, adapted utility transport, with four passenger seats and a couple of foldout tables, whisking its high-profile passengers along at a leisurely speed of just over 250 miles per hour. Back in 1966, however, the U.S. Air Force really did assign a single VIP-configured Beechcraft twin turboprop to the mission of presidential transport, for the use of President Lyndon B. Johnson and his family.

Receiving the Air Force designation VC-6A, the one-off aircraft, serial number 66-07943, was based on the civilian B90 King Air. For its time, this was among the most popular executive twin-turboprops available, and for good reason. Even in the basic version offered on the commercial market, the B90 featured cabin pressurization, seating for up to nine including the pilot, and compared to its predecessors, it added more powerful Pratt & Whitney PT6A-20 turboprops each rated at 550 horsepower.



The changes introduced for the aircraft’s presidential transport included all-weather navigation and de-icing equipment. Newly installed reversible propellers allowed the aircraft to land on very short runways if required. All this came at a cost of $436,0000 and, according to the late aviation historian Robert F. Dorr, it was “purchased expressly to meet Lyndon B. Johnson’s needs.”



While the Johnson Ranch airstrip was plenty long enough for the VC-6A, and even the turbine-powered VC-140B JetStar “Air Force One Half” also used by Johnson, it couldn’t accommodate the more familiar VC-137B that was the best-known user of the Air Force One callsign in this era. Instead, the President would take the VC-137B into Bergstrom before using the smaller VC-140B — or the even smaller VC-6B — as a shuttle to their destination. The VC-6B had seating for Johnson and up to three other family members, visiting dignitaries, or high-level government personnel.



As a footnote to the VC-6A story, it’s worth noting that the U.S. Army also acquired a single example, which was also associated with at least one high-profile passenger. The Army’s VC-6A, serial number 66-15361, was based on the civilian Model 65-A90 and was used to ferry the rocket and space technology pioneer Wernher von Braun between the Redstone Arsenal in Alabama and the military testing area at the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, where he oversaw rocket experiments during the 1960s. Today, this aircraft is also on public display, at the White Sands Missile Range Museum.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/38913/the-lady-bird-special-was-the-lowliest-of-air-force-one-aircraft

More info at link. I would like to visit the Johnson ranch.