For 16 years, members who are chosen for the exclusive Air Force One Detailing Team, do so voluntarily as their patriotic duty to restore, maintain and protect the original presidential jet Air Force One and more than a dozen additional historic aircraft currently on exhibit in the museum's new Airpark Pavilion.
"I trained Josh as an expert in paint and he has perfected his skill at cleaning and polishing paint and metal. When I chose him for the team last year, I was confident he was qualified for the job," said Doyle. "After a year on the team, he has proven he has the experience needed to continue our work and he can help us coordinate new team members and show them the ropes this year."
"I am just as excited this year about being chosen of the team as I was last year, but I think I bring more to the table this year than last," says Buckler. "It is an honor to be steward and caretakers for all these iconic aircraft - especially Air Force One. I am honored to have been chosen for the team again and it makes the Fourth of July holiday special this year."
In addition to Air Force One, which is currently in preservation stages after 15 years of restoration, the team will continue restoring a solid aluminum WWII B-29 Super Fortress Bomber and a recently acquired and badly deteriorating Vietnam-era B-52G Stratofortress Bomber. They will also clean and continue to maintain the first-ever Boeing "Jumbo Jet" 747; the Concorde Alpha Golf; and the first 1960s-70s-era Boeing 727-022 commercial airliner - all three, planes previous teams have begun restoring in the past 5-10 years.
Air Force One is the first presidential jet, known as a flying Oval Office for four American presidents including Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon. It entertained International dignitaries like Nikita Khrushchev and Henry Kissinger. For more than a decade, it lived on the open tarmac exposed to Seattle's notorious climate.
In 2003, a Bush-administration executive contacted Doyle about saving the deteriorating paint and brightwork on the iconic plane. Doyle was known for his skill at paint correction and restoring the shine on classic cars, as well as his knowledge in caring for expensive car collections, exotics, and aircraft.
"That beautiful jet was in such a distressed state when I first saw it in 2003, and it was just me, my wife and business partner Diane, and a few staff members who decided anything we did would help and nothing we did could make it worse," said Doyle. "There was a lot of new technology, new equipment, and innovative products coming onto the market for professional detailers 16 years ago that I had been field testing.
"Since then, those tools and products - some for which we have developed specifically based on the needs of this project, have been instrumental in bringing the plane up to the excellent condition it is in now."
Air Force One still requires an annual cleaning because even though it does not sit exposed on the tarmac, it is inside an open-air pavilion, covered but still subject to the dampness and cold that causes her paint and brightwork to get cloudy. The team also continues their restorative work on the other iconic planes on display.