- In 1955, the United States military used an Airstream in atomic bomb testing in the Nevada desert.
- President John F. Kennedy had a mobile Airstream office which he used during a visit to White Sands, New Mexico, where the Army demonstrated its latest weaponry for the President and his staff.
- In 1964 President Lyndon Johnson’s daughter Lynda Bird toured America in a caravan of Airstreams to help publicize the nation’s beauty in the “See America First” campaign. Both National Geographic and McCall’s magazine covered the tour.
- In 1969, Neil Armstrong and members of the Apollo 11 were quarantined for three weeks in a specially-built Airstream after returning from the first voyage to the moon, until it could be determined that there was little likelihood that they were carriers of “lunar pathogens.” President Richard Nixon visited them while they were quarantined.
- Several specially-built Airstream trailers are commonly used to transport American officials around the world. The trailers are strapped down inside a military cargo plane, usually a C-17 Globemaster III. Vice Presidents, First Ladies, generals and admirals are among the more frequent travelers.
- When flying across Afghanistan in 2008 to visit the troops, First Lady Laura Bush was cocooned in her own private Airstream trailer which had been towed on board The Spirit of Strom Thurmond. Vice Presidents Dick Cheney and Joe Biden have also occupied it.
- For decades, NASA has used a fleet of Airstreams to transport astronauts to launch pads.
- Ralph Lauren created the Polo Ralph Lauren Foundation to benefit medically underserved persons. In 2002, he and his creative team transformed and auctioned off four vintage Airstreams in to benefit the foundation. Airstreams that Ralph Lauren decorated include: Adirondack Caravel, Western Bambi and the Utility/Surplus Airstream.
- A 1960 Airstream Bambi travel trailer is part of the permanent collection of New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) for excellence in style and design.
- Architect Paul Welschmeyer bought a 1958 “Traveler” and completely revamped the inside in hopes of creating a dual purpose mobile office and family vacation home. With the help of his wife and two sons, Paul received the Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects for his design (beating out lavish $8 million homes) and is the proud owner of a truly unique work of art.
- In 2009, the world’s only penthouse trailer park was built atop the luxurious Grand Daddy Hotel in Cape Town, South Africa. Seven Airstream trailers are surrounded by tiny gardens, an outdoor movie theatre, and the alluring outline of Table Mountain.
Interesting Facts
Apr 07, 2014
