Air Force One

I'm watching Air Force 1 for the first time!!!! This is cool.

 

for some reason i couldn't post the direct link it says it was spam or inappropriate material. weird.

 

It isn't? Which one is? How can you tell?

 

can you tell me why the tracks are so zig zaggy? I see that often and wonder if the aircraft really are flying that crazy. Or is the GPS drifting?

 

So Air Force One shows up at MLAT? what about Air Force 2? I found a thread on Radio Reference talking about a long list of Air Force one painted planes. I guess there's tons of them for other government officials? I saw another one today. It was going by Spar18. Keep in mind I know more about trains then i do planes. Until you're post I wasn't aware there was other planes painted similar to Air Force One.

 

what causes the zig zaggy lines on the tracks? I'm still not sure what Air Force One or Two goes by on here. What do they show up as? When you said MLAT i thought you meant that is what they are called. I've been looking for Air Force One. So is these other planes that are painted similar for other gov officials?

 

thanks. i looked it up and it's way technical and over my head lol. thanks.

 

so that means there has to be that many feeders then?

 

Eccentric, that is not AF1. that is a 737, AF1 is a 747, a visually and fundamentally different aircraft.

THIS is AF1



You are looking at probably a Congressional or Senatorial VIP Transport of a VC-40B or a Director of one of the Federal Offices of Government, possibly some high level Brass Officer of a Military Branch. even at that, it could very well be just a empty plane getting some hours.

but that is NOT AF1 you tracked.

even The Vice President doesnt fly a VC-40B, she ( Kamala Harris always rides on AF2, a VC-32A which is a Boeing 757, a larger twin jet. shown here:



Anyone of the family member(s) riding on a VC-32 or VC-40 of the President or Vice President is always designated "Executive 1 or 2"

and yes, there are dozens upon dozens of various aircraft painted in that livery. that is the official United States Government Livery for its fleet of aircraft.

Hope this helps.

 

thanks for the info. Does the Flight number or registration change to Executive 1 or 2 on ADSB exchange? Or what does the Flight number or registration appear as? I'm assuming we can see it on here. Thanks for sharing the photos. did you take them? that's pretty neat. Also i wonder if it's legal to photograph the Air Force 1 or 2 when they take off or land? I seen on the plane spotting section for Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport that certain public areas are closed off to people during VIP visits. that would suck if they won't let us take pics of the most exciting planes in the US.

 

No i did not take those, i did a snap google search and just grabbed the most visually identifying photos at quick glance. to show you the difference between the 747, 757 and 737

as far as Exec 1 and 2, AF1 and 2, etc etc. yes, depending on whether the Secret Service and the President or Vice President decide on and agree to security measures. if they fly with the AF/Exec callsign, yes it can be tracked as AF1/2 EXEC 1/2.

President Trump never flew in Dynamic Hexcode, i tracked AF1 with President Trump a good number of times. in fact, i HAD some screenshots here from the radar of ADSB of AF1 Leaving Nashville Tennessee on the conclusion of the 3rd 2020 Presidential Debate, to which i discovered the other VC-25 had left Dobbins ARB In Marietta Georgia just 20 minutes prior!!! they both flew formation back to Andrews by about 10 minutes separation and both landed at KADW - Andrews AFB one behind the other. why i didnt think to share them here, is beyond me, i KNOW i shared them somewhere and im actively looking for that conversation and those screenshots, have not found them yet.

President Biden and Kamala Harris both always fly blocked ID's, along with authorizing the blocked ID's for EXEC aircraft, but the raw ADSB data is still there. just in dynamic mode where it only gives the Hexcode as the callsign. only the raw feeds will show up, Flight Radar 24 does not allow any info to pass through except "BLOCKED" or "UNKNOWN" as they actively filter out dynamic hexcodes which here on ADSB are always denoted by a ~ preceding the Hexcode itself.


the two VC-25's and their HexCodes that you can setup filters for are ADFDF8 and ADFDF9 the filter will alert you if either of those codes pop up on ADSB Tracking.

the hexcodes for C-32A's are ADFEB7, ADFEB8, ADFEB9, ADFEBA, AE4AE6, AE4AE8, AE4AEA and AE4AEC.

There are only two currently operating VC-25's in the world, so its easy to get the hexcodes for them, as they are sequential as you can see.


Side note: what you will NEVER see on ADSB is the military fighter CAP Escort , they are ALWAYS running in Mode 5 Encrypted Transponders that only the DoD-USAF, DHS, SS, CIA, FBI, FAA and NSA can see.

Attempting to breach a Mode 5 Transponders Cipher Key is something you simply do NOT want to do.

 

Im also on RadioReference, and that particular thread was a DISASTER of misinformation.

 

another key thing to look for. in the case of this C-40B

https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=ae11f8

Look at the call sign, "SAM" ( Special Air Mission ) these are typically what the C-40 is meant for, specialized transport of a US Government VIP or a senior high level ranking official of the US Military getting a dedicated transport to his/her destination.

 

i did forget to answer one question of yours, no it is NOT illegal to photograph AF1, AF2 or even EXEC 1 and 2. in fact, its not illegal to photograph any aircraft in any public space.


UNLESS

and this is a very important aspect:

United States Code "USC" Section 18 Title 795 - USC:18-795

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/795

" (a)
Whenever, in the interests of national defense, the President defines certain vital military and naval installations or equipment as requiring protection against the general dissemination of information relative thereto, it shall be unlawful to make any photograph, sketch, picture, drawing, map, or graphical representation of such vital military and naval installations or equipment without first obtaining permission of the commanding officer of the military or naval post, camp, or station, or naval vessels, military and naval aircraft, and any separate military or naval command concerned, or higher authority, and promptly submitting the product obtained to such commanding officer or higher authority for censorship or such other action as he may deem necessary."

when AF1 lands at a Commercial Airport, This also includes the Presidents Security Details, and ANY operations actively happening directly around the Aircraft while its on the ground. no photography or video of the Presidents Security detail with respect to security measures dealing with the direct handling of operations is ever permitted. this includes photos or videos of the actual screening of passengers or their equipment, not limited to telephoto zooms of the clearance information being revealed on computer terminals or dissemination of such in a wide angle shot. no photography or video is authorized pertaining to equipment or personnel being boarded or loaded into the aircraft is allowed.

now, if AF1 landed at a Air Force Base and your photograph or video included MP's and operations within the base, then USC:18-795 covers it and you can be criminally charged and arrested for it and they will charge you for not only AF1, but the military base also.

 

thanks for all the info. Is ID's and callsign used interchangeably? I see some military aircraft with what i think is Blocked ID's like you're describing. Such as these Chinook helicopters I'm watching. The Callsign or ID is R08876 and the registration is 12-08876.

Also when you're talking about the military fighters are you saying they don't show up at all on ADSB or just during missions?

And if you are parked outside a military base can you legally photograph the aircraft taking off and landing from outside the base? I see there is a lot of traffic in and out of Vance AFB in Oklahoma. I pondered on if we could park outside the base and get pics of the planes coming and going. Or park outside of Fort Riley and take pics through the fence of the helicopters on the tarmac or coming or going. You can see the helicopters plain as day from the I-70 interstate. and i see a side road between the fence of the base and the interstate. I don't know if anyone is allowed to park there and watch or photograph the choppers coming and going. Knowing the way security is they'd probably run people off.

btw my brother got pics of AF1 when Trump came to Kansas City when the plane was parked at MCI. my brother worked at a nearby hanger that rebuilds planes. the secret service told everyone to go inside and don't take pictures when they was coming in but a little while later he snapped a picture. I think it was in 2020 or 2019.