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| Pres. Bush to land on carrier the old-fashioned way |
| 2003-05-01 |
| Edited for brevity. President Bush plans to make history today by landing in a small plane on a moving aircraft carrier hundreds of miles from shore to declare an end to the combat phase of the war in Iraq. The White House downplayed any danger to the president, whose four-person Navy S-3B Viking anti-submarine aircraft will hook onto a steel cable after landing to prevent it from plunging off the flight deck and into the Pacific Ocean. Mr. Bush will be in the co-pilot's seat. "He is a former pilot," White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said of his boss, who once flew jet fighters for the Texas Air National Guard. "For the sake of the landing, I'm sure he will be doing no piloting," the spokesman deadpanned. "Hope he's not watching today's briefing." But later in the day, Mr. Bush playfully left open the possibility that he would take the controls of the plane. "Never can tell what's going to kick in — the urge," he told reporters in the Oval Office. "Let me just say: Stay clear of the landing pattern." Mr. Bush will sleep overnight on the Lincoln as it steams toward San Diego. On Saturday, he will depart on the Marine One presidential helicopter because the ship will then be close enough to shore for a brief chopper ride. That will be less hazardous than the longer flight and landing of the Navy jet, an S-3B Viking, that will carry Mr. Bush to the aircraft carrier. The plane, which is normally used to hunt submarines and attack other enemy assets, will also carry a Secret Service agent, a pilot and a crew member. That's got to be the smallest personal security detail a president has had in some time! |
| Posted by:Dar |
| #17 The President landing in a jet on a carrier and getting out wearing that flight suit was totally cool. He looked totally fit and dashing. Just try to imagine Clinton in a flight suit...as one of my female co-workers (who loved the photos and speech) said: "do they have one big enough for Clinton?" Was anyone else reminded of the president in the movie Independence Day? |
| Posted by: R. McLeod 2003-05-02 00:24:05 |
| #16 AP, there's always Flight Simulator 2002 :) ...or those other flight sims. Or if you have the cash, the real simulators they use for training. |
| Posted by: RW 2003-05-01 21:35:55 |
| #15 Nice speech - not gloating, not boasting, and appropriate emotion for the reason these heros serve, Sept 11th victims, those not coming home. I got teary, but then again I'm a sentimental pussy - I cry during the nat'l anthem |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-05-01 20:56:34 |
| #14 That is one thing I have always wanted to do, is to land my C-172P on a carrier. But getting permission would be a beast. Also they would have to remove the arresting cables so I would not foul my gear. Dream on A/P. Hey, Dubya, you deserve it! I am sure there is immense pride on the Lincoln going both ways today! |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-05-01 16:09:26 |
| #13 "Dubya is my co-pilot." |
| Posted by: Dishman 2003-05-01 15:52:16 |
| #12 There are some truly awesome photos posted at Yahoo of the Commander-in-Chief on the deck of the Abraham Lincoln. Makes me swell up in pride. |
| Posted by: ColoradoConservative 2003-05-01 15:19:25 |
| #11 Just flew in on Fox. Safe, sound, and grinning. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2003-05-01 14:41:49 |
| #10 Wheels up, landing in 20 minutes. Carried live on Fox, CNN, etc. |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-05-01 14:04:08 |
| #9 Hell if Putin can do it... remember when Putin arrived in Chechnya in a fighter jet? Can't recall though if he did the piloting himself. |
| Posted by: RW 2003-05-01 13:09:40 |
| #8 I read that he wanted to do it from the Wizzo seat of an F-18 Hornet but cows were had by all, and he got told no. This is actually about the safest way on, except by COD and the President can't arrive in a COD. |
| Posted by: Chuck 2003-05-01 12:26:58 |
| #7 Think of the difference between this(which is way cool) and the Dukakis photo-op, riding around in a tank with the helmet on, looking like Snoopy |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-05-01 12:18:18 |
| #6 "will also carry a Secret Service agent, a pilot and a crew member." Plus a dozen or so fighter escorts, not to mention the aegis on the water ;) |
| Posted by: RW 2003-05-01 12:14:02 |
| #5 Bet they insisted on putting him in the co-pilot seat because he could eject in case of trouble. No way out of the back of a COD. I'm sure that they'll let him take the stick for a short time. Once a fighter jock, always a fighter jock. Plus it don't hurt naval aviation come budget time. |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-05-01 12:07:56 |
| #4 First sitting President to do a carrier trap. And he's doing it from the copilot seat. Go Dubya! You know Bush must have personally argued like hell to pull this one off - the Secret service would rather him wait till the carrier is near the coast and then helicopter him in. I bet good money that Bush even takes the controls for a bit once they are at altitude. Once a pilot, always a pilot. At least they got him on an S3, and not some dog-crap COD bird. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2003-05-01 11:42:09 |
| #3 Its good to have a Cool president again! |
| Posted by: Yosemite Sam 2003-05-01 11:37:40 |
| #2 I'll bet if he held up air traffic at an airport for a couple of hours while he was having a far-to-expensive haircut, people would call him a cowboy for that too. I don't think he's worried about the Cowboy remarks. Nothing he does will ever get him away from that. Even if he converted to French and did nothing, he'd still be a cowboy for it. |
| Posted by: Mike N. 2003-05-01 10:03:23 |
| #1 We don't plop Vikings very often, if I recall correctly, so he should be fine. Nice touch, BTW, but sure to have some calling him a cowboy again. Hey, it's loads better than any ride at Disneyland. |
| Posted by: Chuck 2003-05-01 09:54:59 |