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Two Air Force Ones at KBTV
Self | 03/30/12 | JimVT

Posted on 03/30/2012 9:11:09 AM PDT by JimVT

Two Air Force Ones?


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: airforce; airforceone; one
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Obama is visiting this bastion of liberalism today and being an aviation nut I am I've been following the flight through internet Air Traffic Control.

Air Force One landed about 11:30 a.m.

About 15 minutes later here comes "Air Force One" again.

I know the first one didn't take off...it would be going out on r/w 33 right over my home.

I thought it was only called AF1 when the POTUS was on board.

Anybody know who's on the #2 plane and why the designation.

Running 2 of those 747s up here is costing us a bundle!

1 posted on 03/30/2012 9:11:10 AM PDT by JimVT
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To: JimVT

Must have been George Soros on the plane.


2 posted on 03/30/2012 9:13:42 AM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)
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To: JimVT

Yes, there are ALWAYS two Air Force Ones for security reasons. GW Bush did the same.


3 posted on 03/30/2012 9:14:22 AM PDT by OrangeHoof (Obama: The Dr. Kevorkian of the American economy.)
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To: JimVT

Did you “salute” when they went by?


4 posted on 03/30/2012 9:15:10 AM PDT by al44
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To: JimVT

I seem to recall that they always fly the backup 747 when the President travels... but it is true that only the aircraft carrying the President is AF1... regardless of whether that aircraft is a 747 or a Piper Cub. Whomever reported that it was a second AF1 was not technically correct.


5 posted on 03/30/2012 9:15:34 AM PDT by r-q-tek86 ("It doesn't matter how smart you are if you don't stop and think" - Dr. Sowell)
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To: JimVT

I believe this is a security practice going back to around the Nixon era. (there are 2 747s that could have the designation AF1 if the President is on it and in wartime, 3 E-4s that also serve this purpose so technically, there could be 5 potential AF1s.)


6 posted on 03/30/2012 9:16:16 AM PDT by mnehring
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To: OrangeHoof
Yes, there are ALWAYS two Air Force Ones for security reasons. GW Bush did the same.

Nope. There is and always will be only one AF1 as that is the call sign. The aircraft becomes AF1 when the President is aboard. There may be 2 similar jets, but only 1 call sign.

7 posted on 03/30/2012 9:27:03 AM PDT by rjsimmon (1-20-2013 The Tree of Liberty Thirsts)
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To: JimVT
One of them is a decoy?

8 posted on 03/30/2012 9:31:08 AM PDT by BitWielder1 (Corporate Profits are better than Government Waste)
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To: rjsimmon

There are several similar planes, most are NAOCs (National Airborne Operations Center), which look exactly like AF1, but without the seal. I remember on 9/11 when every plane in the US was grounded, for several hours I could see a single NAOC circling WPAFB. They are typically reserved for the Chiefs of Staff.


9 posted on 03/30/2012 9:33:51 AM PDT by Flightdeck (If you hear me yell "Eject, Eject, Eject!" the last two will be echos...)
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To: rjsimmon
In many cases two E-4s take off and the point is the bad guys, if they wished to do harm, have to guess which one contains the president.

It would be pointless to use a second airplane as a decoy if it was given a different designator.

10 posted on 03/30/2012 9:37:41 AM PDT by pfflier
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To: JimVT

What city is this?
I know moochelle is visitng Vegas and other places with her daughters today
and she can use the 747
I don’t know if she and 0dumbo were going to be in the same place today


11 posted on 03/30/2012 9:42:41 AM PDT by RWGinger (Simpl)
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To: Flightdeck

The principal of my kids’ grade school told me this story. The school was located next to a lake that served as a seaplane base. For some reason a pilot, didn’t know about the grounding, forgot, had a brain fart, decided to go for flight. He just got off the water and when an Air Force jet screamed in at tree level and forced him down.

The Principal said all the kids on the playground stopped dead in their tracks in astonishment at the spectacle.


12 posted on 03/30/2012 9:45:20 AM PDT by DManA
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To: JimVT
They often send both VC-25s on most Presidential trips, one as a backup in case the primary develops a problem.
13 posted on 03/30/2012 9:48:11 AM PDT by Yo-Yo (Is the /sarc tag really necessary?)
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To: JimVT

His and Hers

Oh wait, hers is in Las Vegas

(Did Reggie tiptoe aboard “his”)?


14 posted on 03/30/2012 9:50:44 AM PDT by silverleaf (Funny how all the people who are for abortion are already born)
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To: thackney
"About 15 minutes later here comes "Air Force One" again."

Misnomer: "Air Force One" is a moniker/call sign for any plane the POTUS is on.

So only one Air Force One can exist at a time. The Other one that landed is a backup plane.

15 posted on 03/30/2012 9:52:40 AM PDT by Mad Dawgg (If you're going to deny my 1st Amendment rights then I must proceed to the 2nd one...)
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To: JimVT

16 posted on 03/30/2012 10:12:22 AM PDT by Lucky9teen (Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading.~Thomas Jeffer)
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To: Mad Dawgg
Misnomer: "Air Force One" is a moniker/call sign for any plane the POTUS is on. So only one Air Force One can exist at a time. The Other one that landed is a backup plane.

Well, if you're going to be critical, I guess I can, as well...

"Air Force One" is a call sign for any USAF aircraft the president's on. If he's on a Navy or any other service's aircraft, it's not Air Force One. :)

17 posted on 03/30/2012 10:52:02 AM PDT by Living Free in NH
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To: al44
Did you “salute” when they went by?

Would the appropriate daytime salute to the bird be a bird? And the night time be a mooning?

18 posted on 03/30/2012 10:55:44 AM PDT by bgill
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To: bgill

I was thinking of the bird, but any ‘appropriate’ gesture would work.


19 posted on 03/30/2012 11:17:07 AM PDT by al44
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To: JimVT
Maybe Marie Antoinette Mooching Michelle is going on another vacation?
20 posted on 03/30/2012 12:13:50 PM PDT by Trod Upon (Obama: Making the Carter malaise look good. Misery Index in 3...2...1)
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