Nixon's helicopter goes under the knife

Friday morning, the helicopter U.S. president Richard Nixon used during his presidency was transported from Yorba Linda to the Chino Airport in preparation for a facelift.

There, the chopper will be refurbished and put back on display when the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum reopens. The museum has been closed for nearly a year as part of a $15 million renovation.

"It is a very unique piece of history and a unique opportunity for folks," Joe Lopez with the Nixon Foundation tells KPCC. "They not only get to get up and close personal with the helicopter, they can actually walk inside and see the very chair where four presidents sat and flew all over the world."

Over the years, the presidential helicopter has taken a beating as it sat under the Southern California sun. The presidential seal on the door has faded and the olive paint has grown dingy. These and other cosmetic issues will be addressed.

The goal isn't to change the chopper. The goal is to restore it to its former glory.

Nixon flew in this helicopter on more than 180 trips while he was president, including his 1974 trip to Egypt. Inside the helicopter hangs a photo of Nixon, Egyptian president Anwar Sadat and this helicopter in front of the pyramids of Egypt.

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"This is also the first presidential helicopter to fly over a combat zone," Lopez says, "as it did when President Nixon flew over the battlefields of Vietnam. And on the final day of Nixon's presidency, August 9, 1974, this is the same helicopter that picked him and Mrs. Nixon up from the South Lawn of the White House, where he gave his famous final salute to the American people before returning to California."

When the helicopter is finished with its facelift, it will be returned to the Nixon Museum, which is also getting a few upgrades.  

Located at Nixon's Yorba Linda birthplace — it was a humble farmhouse back in 1910 — the museum will reopen on October 14.