AIR FORCE ONE in FACT?

[barryt]

Yesterday afternoon around 15h00 I witnessed a 747 flying due east over the Muizenberg area in Cape Town at about 5000 feet (best guess) flanked by 3 fighters (looked like F14s or F18s - couldn't easily tell from the height). The entourage turned north and flew into the distance. Anybody got anymore info as to exactly this lot was and what it's about? I am assuming it was AIR FORCE ONE since I don't know of any other 747 flanked by fighters (definately not of SAAF origin) whilst in the air, but I could be wrong - it was quite fantastic to see, and made my day....

[Gunship]

Bert should know. :E

Boes (without the P) still made the remarkable speach last night about terror and that God let him to invade Iraq : a few minutes later a "terror alert" was issued in NY ... co-incidence ? :E

Mrs Boes and the VP also use Air Force 1 so just maybe they are there to inspect the crime levels and accident rates ? :o

Sorry ... ok back to bed it is Friday and it is foggy in London ;)

[Deanw]

They could have been three Tornados and a SAAF Boeing 707 tanker.

The German airforce has often used SAAF tankers when coming to TFDC for weapon trials.

[Latent Heat]

Saw the Mother Goose and the gaggle flying over Table Bay at about 08h30 this morning. Heading towards Robben Island.

A pleasant suprise it was..

[barryt]

Definately not a 707. Doubt they were Tornadoes.

[GULF69]

i'm with Deanw on the German Air Force. Didnt see the planes so have no idea what they were, but some guys i know in CPT seem to think it was ze Zermans. One thing is for certain - i doubt it was AF1. Knowing the Americans, they would probably of wanted the entire CPT airspace cleared for that.

69

[flutter by]

I saw them coming over my house at just about 17:15, three Tornado's but not one of the SAAF's tankers:ok: Unfortunatly unable to say what the tanker was

[African Tech Rep]

Hi

Just a note cause I’m a pedantic mood

Airforce 1 denotes a USAF plane the president is on – the VP gets Airforce 2 – don’t know what the wife gets.
If no Pres on board the 74’s revert to “normal” callsigns – I think

I did look it up on http://www.milaircomms.com/mil_callsigns.html to see if my thoughts were somewhere near right – but I’m sure someone out there can explain the use of this call sign in DETAIL

[pointer41]

The German lads visit the SAAF's test flight centre fairly regularly. Would be then Tornado's, with the distance probably escorted by a flying fuelstop, which if its looks like a 747 is probably a KC-135. With its larger engines it might be mistaken for a 747 profile, if you miss looking at the wings, fuselage and tail. :} (just joking). The other tanker can be a DC-10 derivative, not sure of its military designation. I flew in the Cape area last year with some of the T's around, lovely bird if you like toys. Enjoy!

[African Tech Rep]

Wouldn't that be KC-10

The MRCA (aka Tornado) is wonderful plane - if you ignore the fact that they had to make different verions for the various roles - and discount the concrete nosed ones ;)

[Gunship]

ATR you are actually correct.

The 747-200 *there are actualy 2 of them * becomes Airforce 1 when the push climbes on board :D

I do not know what the call signs are when the rest of the cronies are on board but remember it has happened only once that Airforce 1 flew back - mission un-accomplished when Kenedy was killed.

Although the new pres was on board he was not inaugurated and they had normall call -signs (if the grey matter remembers correctly) ;)

[African Tech Rep]

There had to be a first time this year :D :D :D

[Stayinalive]

Wow Georrge...is a lot of water out there....with an island and awwl.....

Yeah honey...looks like dem folks down there are really saturated after them dang floods...

But George this seems kinda strange compared to what we saw of New Orleans on CNN and awwwl.....

Yeah honey....kinda confused right now...looks kinda different like you say......

Oh Georgie.... arent you always confused?

Hehe....yeah Lara....you are kinda makin sense right now....dont like what I see...lets get them fighters to bomb the place.....

Oooh George ....I like it when ya talk dirty......

[126,7]

Dont the Yanks use "Sam" followed by anything between 3 and 5 numerical digits for anything from a colonel or so upwards?
The transports are mostly "Reach".
Tankers, Awacs and all the other stuff have often got really original and inventive callsigns. Some of the bombers fly under "Death" followed by 2 numerical digits.
I've heard Lear 35 flying under Dowboy, Jallop. Hercs flying as Koo and Talon. Impossible to list them all, as the USAF/Army/Marines are sooo big and have a brazillion planes.

[Rhodie]

Going with Dean on the Germans.. :E

I seem to recall from a documentary on AF1 that Nixon was on board going home when the new Pres was sworn in (after Watergate) and the news relayed to AF1, which then reverted to a normal airforce call-sign.

R

[I.R.PIRATE]

" AAh Hang awn just wahn minute there Laura, you suure we're not in New Awlins anymore...? "

" Why George, what makes you say that, youre pretty good at Geography and awwl."

" Well Laura, I can see the locals are a rapin', murderin', and lootin'. Hootin' tooting and even shootin'. "


Heeee haaaaa

:}

[Solid Rust Twotter]

As ATR has stated, the callsign reflects the highest ranking person on board. The Pres is AF1, Vice Pres AF2, Sec of State AF3 and so on...

[chuks]

We have an SAM aircraft that visits Lagos fairly often, a C-12, which is a Beech Super King Air 200 by another name.

The call sign is COBRA ONE. I really, really want to ask him if he wouldn't mind very much changing that to FLUFFY.

The REACH guys crack me up, when it sounds like a gang of teenagers must be flying a C-17. Not that they are unprofessional, just that they all sound so terribly young. And trying to say all those un-American names ... holy mackerel, Catfish!

[Nigerian Expat Outlaw]

Very unpatriotic................

[Goldfish Jack]

Well to put you all at rest it was a KC135 of the USAF who was helping the tornados to get to FAOB for a weapons testing period.

Hence all the German transalls and A310 that are here/come/gone at the moment.

The tornadoes will be at Overberg for a few weeks and if we can get it right, we will try and get them to come and give us a beat up at the airport!!!

Must add that the transall crews are great fun to work with and very professional indeed. It seems like they have great fun on this trip - who cant with a few days in the Cape!

So watch the air over Cape Town and you might see a tornado or two over the coming weeks - sorry we wont be able to give you much notice but you might get lucky!

[albatross]

As I recall president Johnson was sworn in as president aboard Airforce One before the a/c left the ground in Dallas - Love field I think.

[Gunship]

Quite correct - he was actually sworn in next to Mrs Kennedy.

You can just imagine waht a tragic day it must have been for her !

So yes, I am sure that the call sign was AF 1 then :ok:

2 Presidents on board and one widow.

[African Tech Rep]

The National Archive tapes hold another remarkable document of that day: the ground-to-air communications between the jet carrying Kennedy's casket and Andrews Air Force Base. At the beginning, the jet's designation is simply 2-6000. It would only become Air Force One once the president was on board -- http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=853244

When Nixon resigned and was flying back to his home in California, the airplane he was on switched its name midflight as Nixon's resignation took effect. http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/ww2/A5526939

http://www.sun-herald.com/NewsArchive2/112903/tp3ch1.htm?date=112903&story=tp3ch1.htm might also intrest

[barryt]

Thanks for the information Goldfish. My eyes must be deceiving me...thinking back now, they could very well have been Tornadoes, it just that my mind refused to go there (refusing to believe there were Tornadoes over our skies), and well, obviously the profile of the 707s wing (looking from directly below) is fairly similar to a 747s...Thanks for clearing up the "intrigue"...:)

[Deanw]

A small pic has been posted here:

http://www.avcom.co.za/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4256

Appologies, deninately not a SAAF 707 :uhoh:

[B Sousa]

KC-135 with newer upgraded Engines.