Presidential visit with miltary flyover
I witnessed a unique sight in the skies this afternoon. 
President Obama flew in and out of the bay area today during a visit to San Francisco, and often uses Moffett for parking his 747 (AF-1). He then usually hops from there via his limousine or a helicopter to his final destination, a politically-based dinner in S.F. in this case.
Thanks to him, today I got to see not one but TWO C-130 Hercs in the pattern for Moffett WITH REFUELING DROGUES DEPLOYED!(?)
And if that unusual sight isn't enough, they were flying in formation with at least 5 or 6 helicopters. 20 or 30 seconds later they were followed by 2 more C-130s with gear extending, but drogues stowed.
Maybe 10 minutes later two C-130s entered the pattern and landed. I assume they were the refueling aircraft that took longer to land because they had to stow their refueling equipment first. The helicopters had landed immediately after passing over me.
approx. 20 minutes after all that I saw the whole group of heli's take-off and head roughly north in a tight bunch, most likely for San Francisco. Was Obama on-board one of those aircraft? I believe so. They always use multiple helicopters as decoys on his trips.
Why the refueling aircraft? I believe the helicopters refueled from the C-130s just before arriving at the base. My best hunch is that they wanted the helicopters to land for Obama's use with nearly-full tanks, so he wouldn't have to wait impatiently for his ride to be filled up on the ground before boarding and leaving.... Can't keep the BIG BOSS waitin'!
No big Boeing though. I've never seen Air Force One over Mountain View despite many visits here. That famous 747 may have been on the base today, I cant say. I can only guess that despite the "AIR FORCE" One moniker, it's considered a non-military aircraft and never flies the left-hand pattern here as the military always does (Note that NASA, a civilian organization, always flies a right-hand pattern at Moffett).
From my location, I can only see the "lefties".
I just happen to have my pocket camera with me this time, and caught video footage of the main group on their downwind. Sorry about the shakiness at the end of the clip, as I was trying to avoid pointing the cam at the sun, which was glaring in my eyes during the last moments of the shoot.
(I recommend using full-screen mode):
[YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_z274DZAsI&feature=plcp[/YT]
President Obama flew in and out of the bay area today during a visit to San Francisco, and often uses Moffett for parking his 747 (AF-1). He then usually hops from there via his limousine or a helicopter to his final destination, a politically-based dinner in S.F. in this case.
Thanks to him, today I got to see not one but TWO C-130 Hercs in the pattern for Moffett WITH REFUELING DROGUES DEPLOYED!(?)
And if that unusual sight isn't enough, they were flying in formation with at least 5 or 6 helicopters. 20 or 30 seconds later they were followed by 2 more C-130s with gear extending, but drogues stowed.
Maybe 10 minutes later two C-130s entered the pattern and landed. I assume they were the refueling aircraft that took longer to land because they had to stow their refueling equipment first. The helicopters had landed immediately after passing over me.
approx. 20 minutes after all that I saw the whole group of heli's take-off and head roughly north in a tight bunch, most likely for San Francisco. Was Obama on-board one of those aircraft? I believe so. They always use multiple helicopters as decoys on his trips.
Why the refueling aircraft? I believe the helicopters refueled from the C-130s just before arriving at the base. My best hunch is that they wanted the helicopters to land for Obama's use with nearly-full tanks, so he wouldn't have to wait impatiently for his ride to be filled up on the ground before boarding and leaving.... Can't keep the BIG BOSS waitin'!
No big Boeing though. I've never seen Air Force One over Mountain View despite many visits here. That famous 747 may have been on the base today, I cant say. I can only guess that despite the "AIR FORCE" One moniker, it's considered a non-military aircraft and never flies the left-hand pattern here as the military always does (Note that NASA, a civilian organization, always flies a right-hand pattern at Moffett).
From my location, I can only see the "lefties".
I just happen to have my pocket camera with me this time, and caught video footage of the main group on their downwind. Sorry about the shakiness at the end of the clip, as I was trying to avoid pointing the cam at the sun, which was glaring in my eyes during the last moments of the shoot.
(I recommend using full-screen mode):
[YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_z274DZAsI&feature=plcp[/YT]
Comment