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View Full Version : President Bush takes his final Air Force One flight


Matt Molnar
2009-01-11, 02:22 PM
Bush takes last Air Force One flight to honor dad (http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5091V020090110)
Sat Jan 10, 2009 2:22pm EST

By Tabassum Zakaria

NORFOLK, Virginia (Reuters) - President George W. Bush took his last official Air Force One flight on Saturday to Virginia for a ceremony to place a warship named after his father into active duty.

Bush, who leaves office on January 20 when President-elect Barack Obama enters the White House, attended the commissioning of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS George H.W. Bush, with close family members and senior officials.
The plane will fly Bush back to Texas following the inauguration, but won't be designated "Air Force One" since he will not be president at that point. It might be "Trailblazer One" in reference to his Secret Service codename.
mmedford
2009-01-11, 06:53 PM
Doesn't his final flight, involve the aircraft taking off as Air Force One, and losing its designation enroute?
moose135
2009-01-11, 07:07 PM
Doesn't his final flight, involve the aircraft taking off as Air Force One, and losing its designation enroute?
No, the outgoing President is typically on hand for the swearing in of his replacement. Therefore, he is no longer President when he departs Washington. You are thinking of Richard Nixon. His resignation took effect at Noon on August 9, 1974, and he had already departed DC on "Air Force One", the VC-137. In that case, they did start off using the AF1 call sign, and changed it while enroute.
mmedford
2009-01-11, 07:14 PM
Doesn't his final flight, involve the aircraft taking off as Air Force One, and losing its designation enroute?
No, the outgoing President is typically on hand for the swearing in of his replacement. Therefore, he is no longer President when he departs Washington. You are thinking of Richard Nixon. His resignation took effect at Noon on August 9, 1974, and he had already departed DC on "Air Force One", the VC-137. In that case, they did start off using the AF1 call sign, and changed it while enroute.

No wonder, I wasn't even thought of back in 1974...lol