Rancho Cordova business owner Chris Tabieros has been selected to serve on the 2026 Air Force One Detailing Team. Photo courtesy of Chris Tabieros

RANCHO CORDOVA, CA (MPG) - Rancho Cordova business owner Chris Tabieros has been selected to serve on the 2026 Air Force One Detailing Team, marking his third year participating in the preservation of historic aircraft at The Museum of Flight in Seattle.

Tabieros owns Sacramento Car Detailing in Rancho Cordova and serves as an ambassador for the Rancho Cordova Area Chamber of Commerce. The chamber currently lists Tabieros among its ambassadors and Sacramento Car Detailing as a member business.

The invitation-only Air Force One Detailing Team is led by professional detailer and trainer Renny Doyle. Team members volunteer their time and skills to clean, polish and protect historically significant aircraft in the museum’s collection.

“Serving on the Air Force One team for a third year really brings home how far I’ve come. It’s an incredible opportunity I never thought I’d see,” Tabieros said. “To be selected for a third year alongside some of the best in our industry and contribute to preserving aviation and American history is something I never take for granted.”

The centerpiece of the project is Boeing VC-137B SAM 970, the first jet aircraft built for presidential use. Delivered in 1959, the modified Boeing 707 carried Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon. The aircraft carried the call sign "Air Force One" whenever the president was aboard. It remained in government service transporting vice presidents and other dignitaries until 1996.

Doyle's aircraft preservation project began more than two decades ago with work on SAM 970 and later expanded to other aircraft at the Seattle museum. The team now returns to maintain several aircraft using professional detailing techniques intended to protect paint, polished aluminum and other exterior surfaces.

Among the aircraft included in the 2026 project are the B-29 Superfortress "T-Square 54," Concorde G-BOAG "Alpha Golf," Boeing 727 Serial No. 001, the first Boeing 747, known as RA001, and a Lockheed 1049G Super Constellation, according to information provided with Tabieros' selection announcement.

Several of those aircraft have their own significant histories.

The museum's B-29, T-Square 54, flew at least 37 combat missions in the Pacific during World War II before later serving as an aerial refueling tanker during the Korean War.

The museum's Concorde, Alpha Golf, flew the final British Airways commercial Concorde flight from New York to London in 2003. The Boeing 747 on display is RA001, the first 747 ever built, which Boeing later used as a test aircraft before donating it to the museum in 1995.

Tabieros previously participated in the Air Force One project in 2023 and 2024. During his 2024 trip, he was one of about three dozen professional detailers selected to work on the museum's aircraft.

His Rancho Cordova shop specializes in automotive detailing and paint protection services, including ceramic coatings, paint correction and paint protection film. Tabieros has also remained involved with the local business community through the Rancho Cordova Area Chamber of Commerce.

The aircraft project relies on participating detailers who donate their labor and expertise rather than being paid for the work. The broader preservation effort has continued for more than 20 years.

For Tabieros, the assignment provides an opportunity to apply skills normally used on customers' vehicles to aircraft with a place in aviation and American history.