re: Why couldn't BTR accommodate the 747 Air Force One

It can

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Not exactly true.

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10-4

I was going off what I read from the local shitty news we have here. Thats what they said this plane is typically used for.

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C-5'

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Now that would be an interesting thing to see at BTR airport.



There are only a few runways that can accommodate a C5. I think i heard one time they need almost 2 miles to get airborne when fully loaded

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Bush came here in the big one.

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Yep...I was at airport for Bush Sr when he came there

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Wonder if this plane is equipped with all the defenses and high tech gadgetry as the regular AF-1.

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I don't think they need all of that for domestic flights. Plus, I imagine whatever plane he is in gets a fighter escort wherever he wants to go and they have advance teams scoping out everywhere beforehand.

I was in a crowd with Jimmy Carter, once, after he left office. My mother had a big purse with her. An hour or so before he arrived, guys in suits were asking her to let them look in that purse. Back in 84, when Reagan came through Tuscaloosa, they rummaged through the dumpster at the Northport McDonald's that Reagan planned to eat lunch at the following day. Of course, these were all back in the day when SS agents weren't more concerned about banging hookers than doing their jobs.

Air Force one has uprated engines and a higher Maximum takeoff weight than other 747-200s. On shorter airfields they can load less fuel and take off with a lighter aircraft and a higher thrust setting. The problem comes in when a larger quantity of fuel is needed, if the aircraft is near its MTOW it will need the 10-12,000 ft runway.

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I think i heard one time they need almost 2 miles to get airborne when fully loaded

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Not true. In fact the C-5M is pretty sporty.

Not exactly true.....they routinely fly into Barksdale AFB...I think they at least have a 12,000 foot runway. But in the 90's c-5's were a common sight at SHV Regional (8,351 ft) for avionics work

I was in a crowd with Jimmy Carter, once, after he left office. My mother had a big purse with her. An hour or so before he arrived, guys in suits were asking her to let them look in that purse. Back in 84, when Reagan came through Tuscaloosa, they rummaged through the dumpster at the Northport McDonald's that Reagan planned to eat lunch at the following day. Of course, these were all back in the day when SS agents weren't more concerned about banging hookers than doing their jobs.
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UGA played Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 1981. Jimmy, Roslyn and Amy Carter flew into MSY on AF1 for the game.

At that time there were new crews from the 3 major TV networks that followed the president everywhere he went in case there was an assassination attempt or some kind of accident. They called theirselves The Vultures.

I had a job to drive a van full of NBC people from the airport to the dome and back. We were parked on the tarmac by General Aviation where AF1 was to arrive. After the news people got out to stake their claim and set up their cameras, I thought it would be a good time to take a nap since I'd only had about 90 minutes of sleep after partying on NYE. I laid down on the floor of the van between the back seats and went to sleep.

I woke up to the sound of AF1 taxiing up, so I got back in the driver's seat to watch. That's when the excitement started. About 15 seconds after I sat down, there was a guy in a suit at the window barraging me with questions - "Who are you? What are you doing here? Where did you come from?" I told him I was NBC's driver and that I'd been in the van the whole time. He didn't believe me because they had "checked" all the vehicles. There was a bunch of luggage and gear cases in the back and I guess they didn't notice me on the floorboard between the seats when they looked through the windows to "check". I went through the whole story again, gave him my LA driver's license and showed him some paperwork for the job. He still didn't seem to believe me, but I guess he could tell I was 18 years old and scared shitless, so he eased up. He finally said "We'll watch the president together. Don't move from that seat." and stood next to me until the Carters loaded up in their limo. I brought a camera to take pictures of the plane and the president, but that guy had me so shook up I forgot all about taking any pictures.

When the NBC people got back to the van, they thought the whole situation was hysterical and had a good time messing with me. They also gave me a $100 tip at the end of the day, which was a fortune to me at the time, so I can't really complain.