Reuters calls it a flyby. Which mean Air Force One is being used. . .

[wndycty]

. . .for political grand standing. . .this really pisses me off! For safety purposes alone the damn plane should have just landed. Not too mention Air Force One was being blatantly used for this obvious political stunt.



Air Force One does a flyby of the Daytona International Speedway as President George W. Bush (news - web sites) arrives for the Daytona 500, in Daytona Beach, Florida, February 15, 2004. Race fans faced long line-ups and meticulous security checks as the Daytona 500 prepared for the arrival of =Bush for the 'Great American Race.' (Duffin Mcgee/Reuters)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/040215/photos_sp/mdf473125

[pinto]

1. another fine example of Busboy's "decision making" ability, duh.

using AF1 for a little fly by...can't we get an adult for president soon?

[Kazak]

42. Bingo!

Der.

[PaDUer]

48. He also did a flyby...

when he was at the University of Scranton..interesting..

[aquart]

2. How much did it cost and who pays?

[pinto]

4. we paid, I assume. don't know the costs....n/t

[NoMoreRedInk]

5. Military planes do flybys at every NASCAR race

I'm sure it costs a lot and we all pay.

[pfitz59]

10. High performance jets.......

Not flying elephants! Stupid move by AF!

[beanball]

23. Who pays ?

the poor tax payers.

[Lefta Dissenter]

3. You trying to get me another Mod Spanking??

:spank:

I received a mod spanking (deservedly so, I might add) when I said something that could have been interpreted as a threat against bush. It was pointed out that the Secret Service might not appreciate my fine sense of humor.

So I will remain silent here................... my lips are sealed, my fingers will remain still on the keyboard.........

[The Blue Knight]

7. Yea, we're picking up the bill, even though this is obviously a campaign

stop.

[ewagner]

15. I saw the fly-by and it really pissed me off.

Think about what was going through Rove's mind....here's a bunch of NASCAR fans admiring all the high-tech race cars and what a better way to reach them than to show them that Dubya has the coolest machine of them all Air Force One ! This goes right up there with the carrier landing!

[0007]

24. I'm keeping my lip zipped too!

Read this blank page in silence.

[LiberalFighter]

26. Careful those incompent SS can also read your thoughts

Or at least AssKroft wants us to think that.

[FlashHarry]

6. Preaching to the choir.

I doubt if one in 1,000 NASCAR fans would even be tempted to vote Dem. This is safe Bush territory, just like his speeches at military events. (Though, I'm not sure how safe those will be if he keeps killing servicemen.)

[mac2]

8. Just a reminder of who...

rules and who gives you all of this!! We all pay for it...he uses our money to control us. It was publicity was it not?

You wouldn't want to have a holiday or event without Bush being there...protecting and putting fear about terrorism, etc. would you?

Maybe..it flew in Cheney or Jeb for the event? Cheney used Air Force One to come to Grand Rapids, MI one time. Everyone got to tour it. It was probably a fund raiser.

[Cooley Hurd]

9. Does AF1 have to adhere to Federal Aviation Regulations?

How close was AF1 to the speedway? According to FAR Part 91 Sec. 91.119 - Minimum safe altitudes: General.

Except when necessary for takeoff or landing, no person may operate an aircraft below the following altitudes:

(a) Anywhere. An altitude allowing, if a power unit fails, an emergency landing without undue hazard to persons or property on the surface.

(b) Over congested areas. Over any congested area of a city, town, or settlement, or over any open air assembly of persons, an altitude of 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal radius of 2,000 feet of the aircraft.

[pfitz59]

12. Also: temporary NOTAMS.....

Major athletic events are closed to air traffic via Restricted Airpsace rules. Lets you and I try to fly-by the 500! We'd be in hancuffs within seconds of landng!
http://web.nbaa.org/public/ops/airspace/restrictions/2004/200402131107.php

[mike1963]

21. Technically, it does but if he was more or less heading for the runway, he

could just tell the tower he was executing a missed approach. Not, of course, like the FAA is gonna complain anyway...
:grr:

[LiberalFighter]

27. What happens if they hide the runway from AF1?

We need to make those runways disappear. Mirrors are suppose to work so that it looks like it disappears.

Make all the runways disappear. Then they have to land outside the country. Make it look like there is a runway in the ocean.

Make AF1 disappear so he can't get on the plane then the SS won't have to worry about protecting him.

[Fridays Child]

11. I guess the F-102 wasn't gassed up and ready to go.

Luckily, Junior can hotdog it just as well in his 747. Did he fly it upside down?

[Buns_of_Fire]

20. Aerobatics in a 747? Neat!

A nice barrel roll would have finished off the demonstration nicely. But why wasn't it towing a banner? :eyes:

Dipshit, thy name is boosh*.

[fearnobush]

13. What a waste of a aircraft.

Buck Fush - Bring it on. I think Mr Bush needs to have a town hall meeting with DU.

[boobooday]

14. The world is his playground

And we are his toys. And he knows if he breaks his toys, he can always get new ones. Daddy told him so!

Enjoy it while you can, Cowboy, cause soon you're going on a real vacation.

http://www.wgoeshome.com

[Fridays Child]

16. Question to pilots or anyone familiar with Florida air traffic patterns.

Is it necessary, or customary, to fly over the raceway on approach to the airport at Daytona Beach?

-snip-

As is customary when a president comes to town, flight restrictions will be in effect within 30 miles of the track for most of the day. A tighter 10-mile restriction that shuts out all but commercial airlines from landing at the nearby airport take effect just prior to Bush's visit.

http://www.n-jcenter.com/NewsJournalOnline/Speed/RacingBusiness/03SpeedRBIZ05021504.htm

-snip-

On the way in for landing, the president's jet made a low, fast loop above and around the track, attracting thousands of camera flashes. Then his motorcade of a couple dozen vehicles took a lap around the oval, stopping to let the president, wearing a black "Daytona 500" jacket, and Mrs. Bush out in the pit area.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,111455,00.html

[JohnyCanuck]

22. Checkout this Map. Shows the Speedway in relation to the airport.

Is it necessary, or customary, to fly over the raceway on approach to the airport at Daytona Beach?


Take a look at this MapQuest map

Daytona Beach Map (You might have to zoom in one notch from the default view so you can see the airport runways just west of I95 and South of highway 92)

I got my FAA Private Pilot License in Daytona beach about 25 years ago. Assuming it's pretty much the same as it was back then. The long runway running more or less East/West is the one used by the commercial airline flights. The runway is identified as 7L/25R (7 Left when approaching from the East or 25 Right when approaching from the West). Just off to the north of the runway the orange patch between highway 92 and the runway is the speedway. Approaching from the East, airlines typically establish an ILS (Instrument Landing System) straight in approach to runway 7L when they are 7 or 8 miles out (or maybe further. Never got an instrument rating so I'm not really that up on the ILS approach to DAB) so by the time they reach anywhere close to the speedway they are already on the runway or within seconds of touchdown.

If the wind is such that they are approaching from the opposite direction (from the ocean) the ILS approach path typically followed by commercial and large multiengine aircraft does not overfly the speedway.

Now it's possible that if the pilot abandoned his landing attempt and executed a missed approach or a go around the flight path might take him over the speedway depending on how close he was to the airport when he made the decision to abort the approach.

Light aircraft (the single engine Cessnas, Pipers, light twins etc. flying VFR (Visual Flight Rules) followed a typical VFR traffic pattern for approach to 7L such that they entered a downwind leg heading West (ie heading inland) parallel to highway 92 and just to the north of the speedway, made a left turn after passing highway 95 and then another left to put them on a final approach path to 7L, but this type of landing approach would not be used by jets and IFR or commercial flights.

[mike1963]

35. You got it pretty much right. 7 miles is a little close to intercept the

ILS (localizer) but it can be done if you aren't going too fast. My charts are out at the airport, but I -think- I recall that the rwy 7 is the front course and 25 is the back...the wind over on the east coast is more onshore as I remember (I flew out of TPA before moving back to oklahoma, did not get to DAB very often.)

And of course if the wind wasn't much (it didn't seem to be), the AF1 pilot could pick either way. I don't think they would argue with him.
;-)
:eyes:

[JohnyCanuck]

43. Doh! I got my directions wrong.

I said it was 7L when approaching from the East, actually it's 7L when approaching from the West and heading East. Likewise it's 25R when approaching from the East and heading West. Maybe it's a good thing I am no longer in the cockpit.

For you non aviators, here's some information with which you can amaze your friends and loved ones. If you've ever wondered how they identify the different runways (or even if you haven't), they're actually compass headings within the nearest 5º. So for example if a runway was pointing directly east or 090º it would have a large white 09 painted on it (the last "0" is dropped) and likewise the other end of the runway pointing Westwards would have a 27 painted on it to represent 270º. It's those numbers that the controllers and pilots use to identify which runway they are referring to when exchanging landing/takeoff instructions as in "Cessna 4567foxtrot you're cleared to Land runway 06."

When you've got a system of parallel runways as they do in Daytona Beach they add an L (for left) or an R (for right)to separately identify the two runways. Like this.

09L ------------------27R

09R-------------------27L

[mike1963]

44. An interesting thing about that, up until about 5 years ago the main

runways at Tulsa TUL were 35/17 left & right, but the magnetic north pole has drifted around and now they are 36/18. Just a little trivia.
;-)
(Some airports have 3, left, right & center, too!
I believe ORD is one...haven't dropped in there for a few years though...)

[Cat Atomic]

17. A serious question here:

Have any other presidents made such grand propaganda appearances? I truly can't recall any.

Bush's political appearances regularly surpass the norm and go into the realm of theater. The carrier landing, the turkey at Baghdad Airport, this fly-by... there are lots of examples. I can't think of any other presidents who made such overtly theatrical political appearances.

[Lisa]

28. staged-managed by professionals ...

And guess who's paying the bills!

http://edition.cnn.com/2003/US/05/16/nyt.bumiller/

With this crowd, everything you see onscreen is suspect. Even that speech that Bush gave in Charleston a few days back -- they rearranged the ships in the harbor to make an attractive backdrop.

[Cat Atomic]

29. Thanks for the link, Lisa.

Interesting article. This is certainly one stage managed presidency.

[Lisa]

38. and some more!

You're welcome -- you might also enjoy these.

"Sforzian backgrounds"
http://www.gregallen.com/gregorg/archives/000788.html
http://www.wnyc.org/onthemedia/transcripts/transcripts_052303_producepres.html


Commentary of one Vietnam vet-turned-academic, on media manipulation
http://peaceaware.com/papers/Bush_Top_Gun.htm

[OneTwentyoNine]

39. Had people remove their ties to look like working class folk??? Gawd...

"On Tuesday, at a speech promoting his economic plan in Indianapolis, White House aides went so far as to ask people in the crowd behind Mr. Bush to take off their ties, WISH-TV in Indianapolis reported, so they would look more like the ordinary folk the president said would benefit from his tax cut."

For christ sake,can you GD belive the sheep that show up and pull crap like this. After this is over tape some more of those Made in Murika stickers over those China stickers....


David

[lovedems]

18. I recall from the MLK day "wreath laying ceremony" that it costs

approximately $147,000 per hour to operate Air Force 1. (I think that is the correct number.)

I agree, this pResident goes over the top with appearances. He is like a 2nd grader who has something to prove. I want a grown up for a pResident!

[madrchsod]

19. i bet 75%

of the people there thought that the president`s little stunt was-political- and could give a crap about it. when you spend the amount of money you do at the race all you care about is that your fav driver wins,there`s a neat accident where no one gets hurt, and the finish is exciting. after that is getting the hell out of there...he`s the only president to pull the stunts he did today and even the dumbist nascar fan knows why.

[DoYouEverWonder]

25. I think W just proved that al Qaeda

is not a real threat to US Security. Otherwise, they would have never even let him go to such an event, no less pull a stunt like that for a photo op.

Remember all those shoulder fired anti aircraft missiles that were supposed to be stashed all over the country? Now we know that was just some more of Bu$h's bullshit.

[bpilgrim]

32. ding, ding, ding

that is why these fools are so arrogant they aren't afraid of ANYTHING and who could blame them when you stop and think about the power at their command and they are nobodies fools... just their own.

are only hope is a grass roots national education program to what else is going on.

peace

[Bunny]

30. He is truly a f***ing douchebag.

Words fail me.:evilfrown:

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[arewethereyet]

33. you guys DO realize that any group can request a fly by, right ?

and its free for all ?

Tha fact is that the flying portions of the armed services need excuses to get the planes in the air and that these are made to be part of bonafide training missions.

Air Force 1 is a military plane and the prez can tell them to go where ever he wants.

You can moan or you can start requesting them for every meeting in sight. Which would be more fun ?

[OneTwentyoNine]

36. A fly by of Air Force One?!?!?!?

Sure,we have fly bys at the River Festival in Wichita each year. Sure,it costs some money but it isn't for ANY political gain of any kind.

Shit,that wasn't just a fly by,it was yet another KKKarl Rove Carrier Landing type of BS political ploy.


David

[arewethereyet]

40. you don't get to pick the aircraft

and if you're paying anything there's some fraud going on.

[Malva Zebrina]

34. these kinds of things turn my stomach

a car race is a presidential photo op so he can talk about how he flew "fighter jets"?

Was the National Anthem sung before the event?

If so, why? It is a sporting event not a meeting of Congress or of any other government meeting

and was sullied by this evil prick of a man who invaded another country on lies and he murdered thousands of innocents with our might bombs over and over, because of that Christian lie

and here he is performing tricks over a car racing track, like the urban legends we hear from the religious right, and another staged photo op, while the serious situation in Iraq and even in Afganistan continues to deteriorate and we continue to lose our precious children while the asshole performs "wow" tricks over the NASCAR racetrack--a sporting event





He, our illegal and unelected, president, is a shameless phoney and is involved in establishing and perpetrating all sorts of phoney urban legends and he has no shame to do so. It is, after all, all he has, actually. He has nothing else to brag about so must rely upon these types of "tricks"

He really is so sick that he cannot parse the difference between creating an urban legend trick on lies and what is the truth. This is his evil as well as his stupidity, callowness and superficial, stupid values.

He is not a normal man, with normal constraints of conscience, because he does not have the intellect to even know what Constraints means, nor is he a capable and intellectual man who would shun such superficial, circus like activities. He thinks it is normal to behave like a clown and to participate in show and staged activities as the president of the US!

and he as no idea of the in depth analysis and seriousness behind the death of 530 or more of our precious children under his, the AWOL commander in chief's orders. He loves being the commander in chief and the big boss over tens of thousands of troops. It gives him a hard on because he never had that mauch power in his life!! WOW! What a jolt! It means his own service will be overlooked or covered up, because he is in control of wars!! And there are many who would vote for him because they alwso think that killing and murder of thousands, tenthousand, is the way to "peace"--the way to "saving the lives of many of those people"

Ugh--when will the human race evolve past it's concern, it's selfish concern for it's own genes and thereby be active and involved in killing off others, women, children, babies, pregnant women in the prime of their productive lives. When will the human race realize that every human being has a ocntribution that is precious to the lives of us all. Why do human being seek to establish a pecking order based upon nothing more deeper than the color of one's skin or the conditions of one's birth in the econimoc heirarchy

this is a futile quest. It will take so many many more years to evolve to that point.

This is so disgusting. I grieve nightly for those who have died and their families who have suffered under this coward of a little prick whose own duty to his country was laughed at by himself, while others died, he was putting in requests to leave his obligation in order to attend Harvard Business School--and what , I wonder, was the financial source that was paying for that? Certainly not anythig he was involved in--certainly his daddy was paying and knowingly , that his son was shirking his committment while others, you know, the little guys, were dying, and being bombed and being killed in Vietnam.

May we never ever see another Bush anywhere near our governmental process. NEVER!! Teach your children about the Bush family and treach them about the evil contain therein.

May his library and his presidential museum be suddenly burnt to the ground in a spontaneous combustion. along with all of the lying photo ops and lying history contained therein. I can imagine this phoney of a man actually trying to foist a museum and alibrary upon us because in his mind that is something that will verify his absolute leadership qualities that he never had in the first place.
We have never seen such a disgrace, such a liar, such a phoney and such a despicable murdered and war monger as in this George Bush--a man without intelligence, morals or ethics. A man who love to kill and murder.

[jmowreader]

47. They always perform the National Anthem at NASCAR races

They sing the Anthem--sometimes it's a famous singer, sometimes the "children of NASCAR," and sometimes a servicemember. During the Anthem, all of the pit crews form up on pit road. For road races, they sometimes do the Canadian national anthem because one of the "hired gun" roadracers is a Canadian citizen.

They always have a military color guard--this doesn't cost much since every NASCAR track is close to a military facility, whether it be an active-duty base or a reserve armory.

They always have a fairly inoffensive prayer: thank you God for this lovely day and the great sport of stock car racing. Give us a safe race and protect our men and women in uniform.

They always release some homing pigeons. They don't do doves anymore because when you release homing pigeons, they come back.

They always release some balloons.

There is a lot of pageantry and ritual associated with NASCAR racing. The Anthem is part of it.

[ComerPerro]

37. This isn't the first time

The last few weeks, Bush has been flying around in Air Force One, on taxpayer money (big no-no to conservatives, or at least it used to be) in order to appear and campaign in states that just had Dem primaries.

And don't forget that photo of Bush on the phone.

It exploited Air Force One and, even more shameful, 9/11, in order to raise funds for the RNC.

[Kazak]

41. These kinds of stunts are going to him in, if nothing else will.

People are not in the mood for this kind of grandstanding from this idiot.

[DoYouEverWonder]

45. Wouldn't this stunt qualify has an abuse of power?

Where's Ken Starr to defend the nation when we need him?

[kenny blankenship]

46. Lighten up on him!

It's not like he can use the ENRON jet to go everywhere, like he did in 2000.

Jeez, you people are so picky!