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Air Force One Needs New Refrigerators. They Cost $24 Million

OpportunityCost said:
Id really like to know what a standard shipping chiller for aviation rated to 70 cubic feet would cost. I have no idea how to find out short of getting a quote from any of the various manufacturers.

Reserve judgment on the cost until we see something along those lines.
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I asked my husband that installs and repairs all types of commercial restaurant equipment. All he did was laugh. He think there might be modifications necessary and all, but to cost that much is ridiculous.

Like someone else posted, when they pay $600 for a toilet seat, nothing is surprising. Yeah, the debt is caused by giving tax breaks though.
 
Critter7r said:
"The Boeing Co., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, has been awarded a $23,657,671 contract for engineering support services for VC-25A G12/G13 chillers, including prototype design, manufacture/procurement, installation, and the testing of one prototype, consisting of both Group A and Group B equipment."

Well, that makes a little more sense. They aren't just replacing units that already have been designed and installed, they're seriously upgrading the equipment, which requires design and testing. I still think it's throwing money away, though. The likelihood of needing to keep the president and his staff aboard Air Force One for "weeks at a time" is very, very low. Spending all that money for the refrigeration units, and however much more money gets spent every time all that food gets loaded up for every flight the president takes seems ridiculous, when MREs don't need refrigeration and would keep everyone alive for just as long as all that perishable food that is stored on board.
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Didn't see this before I posted, but yes, that would make a difference right there. The question is why they need to re-design something that already exists. Still a major waste.
 
Top Cat said:
Trump needs room for his cold cash. Er ..Rubles
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I wouldn't accept Rubles, and I'm sure Trump is smart enough not to either.
 
Rogue Valley said:
Air Force One Needs New Refrigerators. They Cost $24 Million



Two "chiller units" for Air Force One cost $24 million to manufacture and install. There are two Air Force One airliners (28000/29000) and each plane has five chillers.

That leaves eight more chillers that will need replacement for a cool $96 million (pun intended).

As I understand it, the U.S. Air Force has contracted to purchase two of a bankrupt Russian firm's (Transaero) undelivered 747-8 airliners from Boeing to save money. They are currently sitting (mothballed) in the Mojave Desert. They must be refitted to meet USAF standards for Air Force One aircraft.
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He could a McDonalds in there cheaper than that.
 
Dittohead not! said:
I hadn't thought of MREs. If they're good enough for the troops then they should be good enough for the president and his minions.
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Can they retrofit MREs with McDonalds and KFC?
 
YOu guys realize that this isn't just for trump right?

somehow i doubt it.
 
ludin said:
you realize that there will be more presidents than just trump right?
so the whenever the next democrat is elected president him and his minions will
use the same thing.
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Exactly why I used the phrase "the president" rather than Donald Trump. What does party have to do with it, other than for the blind partisans?
 
ludin said:
you realize that there will be more presidents than just trump right?
so the whenever the next democrat is elected president him and his minions will
use the same thing.
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And MREs would be good enough for them too, in the very unlikely event that the need ever arose to keep the president aloft for an extended period of time.
 
ludin said:
cry more is all i can say to this.
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Yes, its difficult to live in a so-called democracy to have "elected" a POTUS that an overwhelming majority of the population thinks that not-only is he doing a bad job, but that he is unfit for the job (incompetent). Forgive me for standing with the majority here.

The pendulum will swing hard the other way quite soon.
 
Rogue Valley said:
Air Force One Needs New Refrigerators. They Cost $24 Million



Two "chiller units" for Air Force One cost $24 million to manufacture and install. There are two Air Force One airliners (28000/29000) and each plane has five chillers.

That leaves eight more chillers that will need replacement for a cool $96 million (pun intended).

As I understand it, the U.S. Air Force has contracted to purchase two of a bankrupt Russian firm's (Transaero) undelivered 747-8 airliners from Boeing to save money. They are currently sitting (mothballed) in the Mojave Desert. They must be refitted to meet USAF standards for Air Force One aircraft.
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Might be cheaper to buy two ice machines and some coolers....well unless they are Yeti coolers in which case $24M is a bargain price.
 
Damn, like a 3rd of that (8 million) would be enough for everyone I know to live comfortably on for most of their lives. Shameful...
 
Abbazorkzog said:
Damn, like a 3rd of that (8 million) would be enough for everyone I know to live comfortably on for most of their lives. Shameful...
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You must not know very many people ... I doubt $8M would support more than 10-20 people for even a decade, much less the rest of their lives.





















:lol:
 
Critter7r said:
You must not know very many people ... I doubt $8M would support more than 10-20 people for even a decade, much less the rest of their lives.

:lol:
I read the post you responded to differently. I took it to mean that the people he knew, individually or in their family groups, could 'live well' on 8 million dollars, not all the folks he knew. 8million dollars would go a long way unless like Huck Finn's dad said , you were to "put on airs." Or use the MC Hammer financial model.

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Rexedgar said:
You can get a Mickey "D"s franchise for less than that!



Smacks of $600 toilet seats and $200 hammers...
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and comparative bargains at those prices!
 
Critter7r said:
"The Boeing Co., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, has been awarded a $23,657,671 contract for engineering support services for VC-25A G12/G13 chillers, including prototype design, manufacture/procurement, installation, and the testing of one prototype, consisting of both Group A and Group B equipment."

Well, that makes a little more sense. They aren't just replacing units that already have been designed and installed, they're seriously upgrading the equipment, which requires design and testing. I still think it's throwing money away, though. The likelihood of needing to keep the president and his staff aboard Air Force One for "weeks at a time" is very, very low. Spending all that money for the refrigeration units, and however much more money gets spent every time all that food gets loaded up for every flight the president takes seems ridiculous, when MREs don't need refrigeration and would keep everyone alive for just as long as all that perishable food that is stored on board.
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It's lingering Cold War hysteria. In a nuclear exchange, AF1 is rigged to run command and control for the entire military for as long as possible.

Of course, the tanker aircraft that would be required to support it aren't hardened against EMP as far as I know, so it's a pretty unlikely scenario.

This could be a chance for Trump to squash some foolish spending, but I don't think he thinks like that.
 
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Rexedgar said:
Critter7r said:
You must not know very many people ... I doubt $8M would support more than 10-20 people for even a decade, much less the rest of their lives.

:lol:
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I read the post you responded to differently. I took it to mean that the people he knew, individually or in their family groups, could 'live well' on 8 million dollars, not all the folks he knew. 8million dollars would go a long way unless like Huck Finn's dad said , you were to "put on airs." Or use the MC Hammer financial model.
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I knew what he meant ... I couldn't resist a good dad joke.
 
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WillyPete said:
It's lingering Cold War hysteria. In a nuclear exchange, AF1 is rigged to run command and control for the entire military for as long as possible.

Of course, the tanker aircraft that would be required to support it aren't hardened against EMP as far as I know, so it's a pretty unlikely scenario.

This could be a chance for Trump to squash some foolish spending, but I don't think he thinks like that.
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Right, but what's that got to do with gigantic refrigerators keeping weeks' worth of food fresh for consumption in that unlikely event? :shrug:

Just load up a pallet with enough MREs for everyone on the plane for however long they choose. No need to spend $24 million on replacing 1/4 of the chillers that will need to be replaced.
 
faithful_servant said:
Try reading:

The new refrigerators aren’t your kitchen Frigidaires, or even a typical jetliner’s cabin-feeding coolboxes. The requirement for Air Force One is the ability to feed passengers and crew for weeks without resupplying. That means storing about 3,000 meals in massive refrigerators and freezers below the passenger cabin. Five “chillers” cool a total of 26 climate-controlled compartments, according to the Air Force.
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TRy making an intelligent argument. I read that, still doesn't explain how they cost 24 million and does nothing to address the question. So what, 3000 meal storage capability, doesn't explain why it will cost $24 million. Yeah, we know its not a normal freezer.
 
Sampson Simpson said:
TRy making an intelligent argument. I read that, still doesn't explain how they cost 24 million and does nothing to address the question. So what, 3000 meal storage capability, doesn't explain why it will cost $24 million. Yeah, we know its not a normal freezer.
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My recommendation to you would be to get the specs on this system, do a analysis of the development costs (since this isn't an "off the shelf system and has to be engineered to spec), the manufacturing costs, the installation costs and see if they line up. When you get done, feel free to return here and show us the results. If they are out of line, then I will join you making the waste as public as I can.
 
They're unnecessary in the first place.

We're replacing 2 of the chillers. There are 8 in total (on each plane? Or total? I don't remember which. Doesn't matter, this expenditure is some fraction - 1/4 or 1/8 - of what the total replacement of all of them will cost). The president of the US has never yet needed to spend any significant amount of time aloft in AF1. It is highly unlikely that the situation will ever arise. Yet here we are, preparing for the president and others on board to have fresh fruits and vegetables along with frozen hash browns for breakfast for weeks on end. While I understand that it would be nice for those on AF1 to have fresh fruit and other regular food if there ever was a situation requiring them to remain on AF1 for weeks on end, it's totally unnecessary since MREs would serve the same purpose and cost a tiny fraction of the $24 million (times 4, or times 8) that it is going to cost for this excessively luxurious upgrade, that will likely never be needed.

This is like building a mansion underground to use only as a bomb shelter in the event of worldwide nuclear war.
 
Dittohead not! said:
Since no plane can fly for weeks without landing, it follows that the only purpose of those meals would be a crash/forced landing. I'm picturing a scenario in which those meals would actually be necessary to keep the POTUS and his entourage fed. I'm having trouble foreseeing such an event. Are we supposed to picture AF1 down, unable to take off again, and the CIC directing a lengthy war from some remote spot? Sounds like a theme for a bad movie to me.
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It's to avoid being poisoned when you land in a semi friendly country. You never know who on the ground may be working for the other side.
 
Rogue Valley said:
Air Force One Needs New Refrigerators. They Cost $24 Million



Two "chiller units" for Air Force One cost $24 million to manufacture and install. There are two Air Force One airliners (28000/29000) and each plane has five chillers.

That leaves eight more chillers that will need replacement for a cool $96 million (pun intended).

As I understand it, the U.S. Air Force has contracted to purchase two of a bankrupt Russian firm's (Transaero) undelivered 747-8 airliners from Boeing to save money. They are currently sitting (mothballed) in the Mojave Desert. They must be refitted to meet USAF standards for Air Force One aircraft.
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Who sets the price point? What is your problem?
 
chuckiechan said:
It's to avoid being poisoned when you land in a semi friendly country. You never know who on the ground may be working for the other side.
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You mean to say that the president and his entourage doesn't eat the local food when they're in "semi friendly" countries?
 
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