Air Force One Causes Landing Delays following Obama Speech at a Solar Factory
May 27, 2010, 1:26 pm
#16
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In 1986 I was taking my third or fourth solo airplane flight from HPN when I was advised by the tower to stay clear of HPN airspace because Air Force One was about to land. I bored small circles in the sky in my little Cessna 172 while waiting for about an hour until President Reagan had cleared the area. Air Force One (that day a Gulfstream IV, if I recall) was sitting on the ramp as I taxied back to Panorama.
Every time AF1 gets anywhere near traffic grinds to a halt.
Every time AF1 gets anywhere near traffic grinds to a halt.
May 27, 2010, 2:20 pm
#17
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May 27, 2010, 3:07 pm
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May 27, 2010, 4:22 pm
#19
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May 27, 2010, 4:46 pm
#20
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I think they do weigh the factors carefully when deciding. When WJC and his family came to Atlanta for the opening of the Olympic Games in 1996, the presidential party departed just before the formal end of the Opening Ceremony, and were driven up I-75 to the waiting AF1 at Dobbins AFB. Considering that most Atlantans were either in Olympic Stadium or glued to their television sets, it probably caused less disruption than going the other direction, to Hartsfield.
May 27, 2010, 5:32 pm
#21
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They do use them sometimes. There aren't Air Foce bases everywhere in the country, you know, especially ones that can handle a 747. In any case, security would be the paramount issue in determining an airport location. landing at a military installation and then driving a long way to reach the destination increases risk.
May 27, 2010, 10:45 pm
#22
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I wonder why the POTUS uses AF1 to get to NY... why not just take the 'chopper? Do the VH-3 and VH-60 have such a short range?
The US should pay the UN to build a heliport on top of the Secretariat Building or over the East River (so the Secretariat Building can act as a noise barrier) for the POTUS.
So why not use Marine One?
If an AFB cannot handle a VC-25A (runway less than ~7000ft long?), then why not use another aircraft? After all, a C-172 carrying the POTUS is AF1. If the President flies on a commercial flight, does the flight number change?
Did the marine pilots have a day off, or was there some other reason to waste hundreds of thousands of man-hours (people stuck in traffic)?
Sure, maintaining the helicopters probably costs more per flight hour than the value of a few thousand citizens' workdays, but there is some value in not sending a metaphorical "&%$@ you" to thousands of people.
The US should pay the UN to build a heliport on top of the Secretariat Building or over the East River (so the Secretariat Building can act as a noise barrier) for the POTUS.
They do use them sometimes. There aren't Air Foce bases everywhere in the country, you know, especially ones that can handle a 747. In any case, security would be the paramount issue in determining an airport location. landing at a military installation and then driving a long way to reach the destination increases risk.
If an AFB cannot handle a VC-25A (runway less than ~7000ft long?), then why not use another aircraft? After all, a C-172 carrying the POTUS is AF1. If the President flies on a commercial flight, does the flight number change?
however, it is pretty standard to run a helicopter fleet from white house to andrews. they fly fairly low and no particular precautions are taken down the standard route of the suitland parkway.
when bush spoke somewhere in baltimore, and came up by motorcade, I 95 was shut down both ways from early morning until after lunch.
when bush spoke somewhere in baltimore, and came up by motorcade, I 95 was shut down both ways from early morning until after lunch.
Sure, maintaining the helicopters probably costs more per flight hour than the value of a few thousand citizens' workdays, but there is some value in not sending a metaphorical "&%$@ you" to thousands of people.
May 28, 2010, 4:30 am
#24
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On a large scale the occasional traffic jam is very expensive. Thousands of people are delayed for hours, large quantities of gasoline are burned, etc. These things can add up very quickly. On a smaller scale a traffic jam is a huge pain in my rear end... I don't want to wait an extra hour or two sitting in traffic so the POTUS can have dinner at a fancy restaurant.
The cost of security for a motorcade must also be quite expensive: one needs a lot of manpower to close hundreds of roads, overpasses, railroads, etc.
May 28, 2010, 5:46 am
#25
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May 28, 2010, 6:36 am
#26
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the presidential fleet of helicopters is stored in quantico va, about 30 miles south of the capitol. they are under marine guard 24 hrs a day.
they had been stored half the time at the naval air station in anacostia and guarded by navy that half the time, but that was deemed unsafe.
once or twice a week, about half a dozen of these copters come chugging up the east bank of the potomac at about 5 am. they stay under the DCA flight path, so are low and loud. when bush was in office, they came by almost every day.
as to motorcades, dc has at least 2 or 3 a day. when world bank conference was here, the city shut down for a couple days.
as to just picking up any plane and naming it AF1, the real AF1 has a lot of electronics for communication and a lot for defense that are not standard issue.
they had been stored half the time at the naval air station in anacostia and guarded by navy that half the time, but that was deemed unsafe.
once or twice a week, about half a dozen of these copters come chugging up the east bank of the potomac at about 5 am. they stay under the DCA flight path, so are low and loud. when bush was in office, they came by almost every day.
as to motorcades, dc has at least 2 or 3 a day. when world bank conference was here, the city shut down for a couple days.
as to just picking up any plane and naming it AF1, the real AF1 has a lot of electronics for communication and a lot for defense that are not standard issue.
May 28, 2010, 7:59 am
#28
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Just saw AF1 take off from ORD. It looked like they shut down flights for about 10-15 minutes as Marine One came in, then resumed operations for a while, then shut things down again for a few minutes while AF1 took off. Didn't look to be as disruptive as I would have thought.
If memory serves, there aren't any military bases (excepting ANG bases at civilian airports) with sizable runways anywhere near Chicago. I'm pretty sure that the only active AF base left in Illinois is Scott, and that's 250 miles away.
If memory serves, there aren't any military bases (excepting ANG bases at civilian airports) with sizable runways anywhere near Chicago. I'm pretty sure that the only active AF base left in Illinois is Scott, and that's 250 miles away.
May 28, 2010, 8:13 am
#29
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There are times that they come in via helicopter. If it is just a day-trip it happens. They will also helo in from JFK to avoid shutting down most of the roads in some cases (they usually use JRB as the port for those runs). But it is also important to remember that the President isn't traveling alone or even with just a few advisers ans and Secret Service agents. There is also a significant press contingent that often comes along. For the bigger trips that includes a second airplane, not just the capacity of 28000/29000.
May 28, 2010, 8:34 am
#30
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If the President flies on a commercial flight, does the flight number change?