If the President is not on board is the plane still referred to as AF1????
No
It ceases being Air Force One when he exits the plane.
We and the media will still address it that way though, so we’ll be able to instantly identify the aircraft.
Whatever plane he is one, is Air Force One.
If some circumstance should arise where he is on a two seat Cessna, it would still be Air Force One.
No. AF1 is designated to any plane he is aboard, though. He could be flying in a Piper Cub and it would be designated AF1.
Nope. In that case it would go by its tail #. Air Force One is a callsign, not a vehicle designation. You put President Trump in a piper cub, it becomes Air Force One.
CC
If the President is not on board is the plane still referred to as AF1????
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Yesterday I read that the plane is referred to as AF1 only when the President is on board.
Air Force One is a call sign, not an aircraft. Any USAF aircraft the president is on is called Air Force One. If the president is on an Army aircraft it is called Army One, Navy is called Navy One, etc. If the President is flying on a civil aircraft or US government owned but non military aircraft the call sign is Executive One. In practice many people refer to the E-4 the President uses as Air Force One.