MER tomorrow, 6/17/16, AF1

[arnoha]

So, planning to fly to KMER tomorrow with a couple co-workers to check out the museum. As it so happens, Air Force One is also scheduled to fly in on Friday. The TFR starts at 6:15 PM PDT and ends an hour later. I should be gone before 4PM, so it shouldn't be a close thing.

I can't find any airport NOTAMs about any further restrictions at the actual airport. I've called the airport manager, but no one is answering the phone. Anyone else ever flown in so close to a POTUS flight? What should I expect at the airport?

 

[MAKG1]

Secret Service won't want you anywhere near the 747 or C5 or the motorcade, including where they might go in a few hours. Fortunately, it's such a huge field that it may not be a problem.

They may lock down the field as the motorcade leaves or arrives, but the current occupant isn't anywhere near the ***hole his predecessor was in this regard.

The TFR can move. You may have to hang out for an extra hour. Make damn sure you get an updated PHONE briefing right before engine start. No way I'd trust a secondary source like Foreflight for this. TFR busts are a big deal.

Judging from the TFR, they are headed to Yosemite.

 

[arnoha]

Oh, will definitely be keeping a close eye on the TFR. I'll also be on flight following for any flight today. (It's not the only TFR in the bay area...air show season! ) Yeah, I know flight following does not guarantee anything about TFRs, but another hedge against a mistake.

News articles say he's spending Father's day at Yosemite, which is the opposite direction from the museum. Granted, I have no idea what the motorcade route out of the airport is.

 

[Caramon13]

Oh, will definitely be keeping a close eye on the TFR. I'll also be on flight following for any flight today. (It's not the only TFR in the bay area...air show season! ) Yeah, I know flight following does not guarantee anything about TFRs, but another hedge against a mistake.

News articles say he's spending Father's day at Yosemite, which is the opposite direction from the museum. Granted, I have no idea what the motorcade route out of the airport is.

Be on a flight plan too, not just flight following. If you can file IFR I'd do it. But yeah, definitely keep an eye on those "spotlight" TFR's as they move across the US looking for airspace's to shut down

 

[MAKG1]

Oh, will definitely be keeping a close eye on the TFR. I'll also be on flight following for any flight today. (It's not the only TFR in the bay area...air show season! ) Yeah, I know flight following does not guarantee anything about TFRs, but another hedge against a mistake.

News articles say he's spending Father's day at Yosemite, which is the opposite direction from the museum. Granted, I have no idea what the motorcade route out of the airport is.

I don't think there is an east side exit from that field. There is a prison there.

 

[ircphoenix]

They may lock down the field as the motorcade leaves or arrives, but the current occupant isn't anywhere near the ***hole his predecessor was in this regard.

Expand on this please? I've got zero experience with TFRs or presidential movement. If there's a TFR, I just don't fly that day. You obviously have some experience bridging a couple administrations. Do procedures change based on WH occupant?

 

[MAKG1]

Expand on this please? I've got zero experience with TFRs or presidential movement. If there's a TFR, I just don't fly that day. You obviously have some experience bridging a couple administrations. Do procedures change based on WH occupant?

I work at a Federal airfield. Clinton came through here to visit his daughter at Stanford almost monthly. The main gate was closed for 5 minutes as the motorcade blasted by, and Flight Ops was off limits. Easily avoided, not a big deal. Bush came through here less frequently, but he closed down surface transportation on the center for hours each time, and more importantly, refused to disclose when he was going to do this (though we could guess from the TFR). And he trapped people between the south gate and flight ops. For hours. Obama so far has been more like Clinton, but he hasn't been here much. I haven't even seen his motorcade even though my office overlooks the main gate and I know he's been by.

TFR procedures suck all the way around. They changed apparently after 9/11.

Note that VIP TFRs are different from other types. I've operated (legally) inside a fire TFR before. It's not a big deal; just lots of weird traffic to watch for and required radio comms, including clearance.

 

[Unit74]

Be on a flight plan too, not just flight following. If you can file IFR I'd do it. But yeah, definitely keep an eye on those "spotlight" TFR's as they move across the US looking for airspace's to shut down

Only an IFR plan has any advantage. VFR FF will accomplish all the protections he can get sans an IFR plan.

A VFR plan won't do squat for him.

 

[bflynn]

Make sure you're gone long before the president arrives. Fortunately, he has a 747 and will be hundreds of miles away 2 hours out.

They may lock down the field as the motorcade leaves or arrives, but the current occupant isn't anywhere near the ***hole his predecessor was in this regard.

It's the Secret Service that decides airport security measures, not any individual president.

 

[MAKG1]

It's the Secret Service that decides airport security measures, not any individual president.

If you say so. I've been dealing with it for three administrations, and my experience doesn't jive with your expectation.

Hint: the chain of command for the secret service is its Director, then the Secretary of Homeland Security (used to be Treasury), then the President.

And the schedule is determined almost exclusively by the White House.

 

[Caramon13]

Only an IFR plan has any advantage. VFR FF will accomplish all the protections he can get sans an IFR plan. A VFR plan won't do squat for him.

I disagree. Take a look at some of the VIP Notams. Some require not only a code, but a flight plan to traverse them (VFR or IFR). You can't count on being able to just use FF to go through every single TFR out there.

Better to be safe and just file one, where's the harm in that anyway? It takes 5 mins to fill out the form (not even) and a moment to open in the air.

 

[frfly172]

Even if you file IFR,there may be other security restrictions ,on flying into the airport. You may have to go through TSA at another field.

 

[ircphoenix]

Make sure you're gone long before the president arrives. Fortunately, he has a 747 and will be hundreds of miles away 2 hours out.

It's the Secret Service that decides airport security measures, not any individual president.

That's not entirely true. The president can do or not do whatever he wants. The secret service has to work around that.

 

[Cooter]

They may lock down the field as the motorcade leaves or arrives, but the current occupant isn't anywhere near the ***hole his predecessor was in this regard.

I've had a very different experience, and the general impression I've witnessed is quite different than the one you've expressed.

 

[arnoha]

I ended up going to MRY instead, as the weather was better than forecast yesterday. So, I can't report what happened. (Also, the TFR still doesn't start for a half hour.)

MAKG1, I'm fairly certain I know where you work. My office is five minutes away from yours and I can see the runways from my building. I wouldn't mind putting a face to a name, if you're amenable. I'll send you a PM.