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Air Force One landing at Logan
By adamg on Thu, 03/06/2014 - 9:24am
Mark Garfinkel posts a series of photos from Deer Island of the president's plane arriving in Boston yesterday.
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Comments
Why not Hanscom?
When the President comes to town why not land the plane at Hanscom Field in Bedford? Being a combination civil airfield and military base it would be far less disruptive and is just as easy to get to Cambridge/Boston without shutting down interstates.
Cars still have to drive on roads
I imagine it has to do with security concerns about driving down route 2, which would still have to be shut down and has a lot more intersections, lights, etc. And if they didn't go route 2 they'd have to take 128 or something, which would still need to be shut down with the added negative of being further away. Basically, the shorter the distance the better
Without shutting down interstates
Okay. Not that Hanscom isn't anywhere near an interstate. Nope. Not at all.
It certainly isn't anywhere near a major traffic nexus where an interstate intersects a major 6-lane state/US highway.
Nothing like that.
Not that the 20 miles of travel to get to Harvard Square and then Southie and 20 miles back would be at all disruptive to anything urban or suburban.
Sure. Whatever you say.
Really?
Is the sarcasm really necessary? Couldn't you just explain that Hanscom is also near an interstate and would cause just as many issues?
Yes it is necessary
Because one need only look at a map to realize how ridiculous it is. And someone didn't bother.
Now, now
Some of us don't have, shall we say, liberal use of company time to spend on the internet.
Then don't post, obviously.....
People who don't have time to do even the most rudimentary homework before posting strong opinions need to have their asses handed to them more regularly.
What is a map?
What is a map? You mean a paper thing? You're right. If he landed at Hanscom, they would tie up every bridge, overpass, underpass, train crossing (even in tunnels) and bicycle path from there to Southie. At least with Logan the traffic disruption's more local.
What?
Give me a break. I also live in West Medford and I know the area just as well. If the President was also in Boston maybe you have a point but I was under the (perhaps mistaken) impression he was just in Harvard Sq. If you are going to tie up a major traffic interchange which is worse: The Rt. 2 / I-95 overpass or the Central Artery & one of two major tunnels?
Who is more inconvenienced, the travelers and employees of the biggest airport in New England or an already secure military base which shares a runway with a small airport that only flies private chartered and recreational aircraft?
The difference in distance between Harvard Sq and Hanscom is only twice that of Harvard Sq and Logan -- maybe an extra 10 minute drive in a motorcade. It's not like I was suggesting he fly into TF Green.
Try this for an emperical traffic lab assignment
Head out to Hanscom - by bike or by car, your choice.
Leave at 4pm and try to get to Harvard Square.
Note how many intersections would need to be corked. (understanding that Lexington and Arlington lack the police resources of Boston and Cambridge).
Note other security risks en route.
Note the traffic levels and roads that would be impacted.
Imagine coming through the Alewife area around 5pm.
In other words, see for yourself what it is like to try to get from Bedford to Cambridge at rush hour. A lot of people live and work along that route - it isn't "out in the country" - it is very congested and not terribly direct (even if you did close I-95 and Rt 2 to make it happen).
Yes, Alewife is a mess at 5
Yes, Alewife is a mess at 5 pm.
But so are all the routes to Logan (the Allston Pike interchange, or the various entrances to the harbor tunnels, assuming they're open).
Yes, you were mistaken,
Yes, you were mistaken, please correct yourself. The president also went to Artists for Humanities HQ in South Boston.
If he had to...
I suppose he could land at Hanscom, put on his mom jeans, and pedal his Trek hybrid bike to Boston via the Minuteman.
wow
just wow. Lay off the caffeine for a bit.
That plane needs
at least a 10,000 ft runway. Although it services jets I don't think Hanscom has a runway of more than 7,500 ft..
C-5 galaxies (huuuuuuge
C-5 galaxies (huuuuuuge transport planes) can land there. So why couldn't a modified 747 like AF-1?
They have used Hanscom before
A VC-25 can land and takeoff at Hanscom. I've seen it happen and have photos somewhere from the early 1990s, when George H.W. Bush came to Burlington to campaign or fund raise for Bill Weld. I was 16 and my father brought me to Burlington Mall Road to see the presidential motorcade go by on its way to the Marriott. After that we went over to Hanscom to see the President off. He was nice enough to come up the fence to greet the gawkers on the edge of the runway. My father, being a professional photographer, made sure I took photos instead of waving back the the President as he boarded the plane. I also remember that the presidential limo was stored in one of the bays in Burlington's main fire station the night prior to his visit. My mother worked at Town Hall at the time and got my best friend and me in to see it (from the other side of a rope barrier or police tape and with permission of the police chief and Secret Service detail, of course).
7,011 feet, to be precise.
7,011 feet, to be precise. While I suspect it could land fully-loaded it might be a bit risky to actually take off again.
They would not need anywhere
They would not need anywhere near a full load of gas to return to DC, easily doable. They landed AF1 at Green which is even shorter.
He could always take the chopper from Hanscom to avoid closing 128
Why not just stay home?
"When the President comes to town"? Why does he need to come to town? Teleconferencing. Use it. We don't need the hassle. And I voted for him. Twice.
Why?
From Wikipedia:
A non-flying base, Hanscom Air Force Base is named after Laurence G. Hanscom (1906–1941) in honor of the pilot, aviation enthusiast, and State House reporter who was killed in a plane crash at Saugus, Massachusetts when he had been lobbying for the establishment of an airfield in Bedford. Laurence G. Hanscom was a reporter for the Worcester Telegram-Gazette. Hanscom was active in early aviation, founding the Massachusetts Civil Air Reserve. The base was named in his honor on 26 June 1941.
The AFLCMC mission is to deliver affordable and sustainable war-winning capabilities to U.S. and international partners—on time, on cost, anywhere, any time from cradle to grave.
Hanscom Field, a civilian general-aviation airport adjacent to the Air Force Base, and MASSPORT, are the primary operators of the air field and runways. Less than one percent of the aircraft that land at Hanscom Field are military aircraft.
Also, Route 2, Route 3, and 128 are all logistical nightmares for the level of security that needs to be provided to get the President in and out, and would have created a greater disruption.
President flew on that 747
President flew on that 747 from Connecticut to Boston for a couple of fund raisers. He could have taken the limo and gotten to Boston in not much more time but at far less expense to the taxpayer.
By the way
I'm told that Air Force One has a dummy plane (a "double", if you will) that is generally in the air at the same time to serve as a decoy. The ambiguity as to which of the two planes actually has the President aboard works in its favor. These photos could have have been of the double for all we know.
No
The dummy plane doesn't land.
Never?
Never? That's a neat trick.
Obvious joke is obvious
The dummy plane was only in effect from 2001-2009
/try the veal
That's the one (dummy plane)
that Biden uses.
And then there's Bo's plane..
And then there's Bo's plane...
Yes, and there was Kaz's plane
I flew to the UK recently. I took Kaz's plane...operated by British Airways and carrying a few hundred other passengers.
Bo's osprey also contained WH staff, press, and Secret Service. It wasn't exactly a flight chartered exclusively for the First Dog.
more the better
he should have at least 5 dummy planes going to 5 nearby airports , just to make it super safe
Mark
is one of the premiere photojournalists in Boston. Love to see his photos.
Marks photo's
You should check out more of Marks photo's on airliners.net.....nobody has better Logan pictures than Mark!