Chillin' on Air Force One

On Sunday, President Obama came to Notre Dame to give the commencement speech for this year's graduation. You have likely heard, read, or seen plenty of coverage concerning all of the protests and controversy surrounding this event, but it turned out to be relatively uneventful. Kasey was lucky enough to win one of the lottery tickets among faculty and attend the ceremony. She thought she was going to have bragging rights in our house until I used a few connections to get a little closer to Air Force one than most people ever do.

A longtime ND employee that I work with has some connections to the secret service that go back many years. My boss and I have been giving him a hard time for the last few months, joking that one of these times that President Obama comes to South Bend, he needs to hook us up with a trip to see Air Force One. Not expecting him to ever pull it off, he called this past week and said that he had arranged for us to go out to the South Bend airport to see the plane land and then get a tour of it. I didn't really believe it was going to happen, so I didn't tell many people about it.

We headed out to the airport about 11:30 am, and after going through multiple security screenings, lines of questioning, and hanging out with the local press, we got to stand out on the tarmac and get a fantastic view of the plane landing right in front of us. Unreal how something that big can make such a soft landing. After the President and all of his staff unloaded and headed for campus, we had to wait about 30 minutes for them to clean and sweep the plane.
It was just me, my boss, our coworker from ND, his son, and his son's fiancee. They let us walk out onto the tarmac and take as many pictures as we wanted in front of the plane, next to the plane, standing on the steps of the plane, and of course, waving from the steps of the plane. Unfortunately, they don't allow any electronics to be brought on the plane so there is no evidence of me sitting in the President's chair in his office or walking through his bedroom and bathroom. That's right. Full access to the entire plane. Unreal. The thing is huge. It was already tough enough for me to stomach the puddle jumper planes that I'm forced to fly out of South Bend, but it will be even tougher knowing that it is possible to fly in such style.

I won't bore you with the details because without pictures it's just not that interesting, so I'll leave you with just one story. So when I say they gave us full access to the plane, I mean we got to see everything. We walked up to the third floor to where the cockpit is located and got to take turns going in to check things out. I was the only non-Air Force person when it was my turn (I learned that Secret Service guards the President whenever he is on the ground, but that Air Force security guard the plane) to see things. So it's me, the co-pilot, the two Air Force security guys that escorted us around the plane, and one of the other backup pilots. The co-pilot invites me up to sit in the captain's chair. So I get a little bold and start flipping switches while asking "What does this do?" Just kidding. I was scared to move. These four Air Force guys start talking about all kinds of things that are way over my head, comparing the controls of different planes and talking about the engine power (I think). I realize that I'm sitting in the most famous plane in the world with four Air Force guys, so I can't just sit there like an idiot. So I interrupt them and blurt out, "Fellas, I have no idea what you're talking about. Let me ask a simple question - can this thing land itself?" The co-pilot started laughing, and said "Great question. It can definitely land itself, but unless vis is less than 300 feet, we always land it manually." That's right, "vis." For all of you non-Air Force speaking people out there, that is short for "visibility." I learned all kinds of abbreviations for airplane terminology, but I was sworn to secrecy.

Enjoy some pictures below, and if you know me, I won't be bashful in sharing more stories and details the next time I see you!

Coming in for a landing.


Touchdown. I think I can see President Obama giving me the thumbs up through the window.

President Obama heading to Notre Dame.

The mirrors on the bottom of the plane are cleaner than the ones in my bathroom.

Chillin' outside Air Force One

This is our crew. Reggie Dickson was our guide - he is the Chief Flight Attendant for the President.



A future in politics?