UH-OH: Trump laments that his new gift jet may be "too big"
Donald Trump’s big, beautiful new plane from the government of Qatar has arrived – but the US president has a problem with it.
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Now that it’s arrived in the US, Trump says it’s too big. The Qataris have given the president a Boeing 747-8, a stretch model of the jumbo that is more than 18 ft longer than the much older 747-200B that flies as the current Air Force One.
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He expanded. He called the new jet a “beautiful, big, magnificent, free airplane for the United States air force”. But is apparently unhappy with its size, although he has not sought to answer the question, too big for what?
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Asked on Wednesday if it is definitely going to become Air Force One, the official plane of the US president, Trump said only that the aircraft is in the US and “is being re-fitted for military standard”. Airplane dimensions were considered.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/28/trump-qatar-plane-gift-boeing
Curious, that maybe it's too large to land at some airports, I looked up Boeing's Information about its 747-8 landing and taxiway requirements: Boldface emphasis is mine.
Airplane dimensions were considered during the 747‑8 design process so it could operate in today’s 747‑400 airports safely and efficiently. it has the same exterior dimensions as the 747‑400, except for an 11.4‑foot wider wingspan (fully fueled) and 18.4‑foot greater length. it builds on the current 747’s capability to fly into major airports worldwide, using the same pilot type ratings, and similar aircraft services and ground support equipment (for specific details, please see Section 5 of the airplane planning manual located at http://www.boeing.com/commercial/airports/747.htm). the airplane’s higher gross weight increases the pavement loading approximately 18 percent but is still comparable to today’s twin‑aisle airplanes.
(The 747-8 is coded "F" for airport requirements)
In terms of airport requirements, one of the differences between icao code E and code F is the runway‑to‑taxiway separation requirement, which is 598.7 feet for code E and 623 feet for code F. Many of today’s major airports have been constructed with code e separations, so full compliance with icao standards would force them to remove existing taxiways and rebuild them an additional 24.6 feet (7.5 meters) away from one another.
Another major difference is the taxiway‑to‑object separation requirement, which is 155.8 feet for icao code E and 188.6 feet for code F. In order for an icao code E airport to be improved to be in full compliance to code F standards, an additional 32.8 feet of separation is recommended. These infrastructure changes would not only be cost‑prohibitive but could also impact the airport’s overall capacity during construction, assuming the airport even had enough land to accommodate the increased spacing.
https://www.boeing.com/content/dam/boeing/boeingdotcom/commercial/airports/AERO_2010_q3_article3.pdf
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