@#9 ... Anyone recall Trump claiming the plane was just being sent to Europe so US troops could tour it? ...
I saw him saying that.
At the time my first thought was along the lines of... ~what's he covering up?~
Now Pres Trump finally seems to admit the real reason.
Qatar 1 was a civilian aircraft that was attempted to be at the capability level of a usual Air Force 1.
And it failed in that aspect.
OK, let's take a step back here, and look at things ...
Qatar 1 was originally a civilian Boeing aircraft.
The Air Force 1 planes start out as military planes.
OK, from the get-go, there is a huge difference in the planes, military vs civilian usage.
So, then the question becomes, how much money needs to be spent upon a civilian aircraft, Qatar 1, in order to bring it up to the standards of a military Air Force 1 aircraft?
So far, I see $400 million, and counting.