I took the day off from work today and my family and brother's family spent the day in San Antonio for my daughter's birthday (the San Antonio zoo is pretty cool). On the way back to Austin, around 5:30 tonight, right over us flew a big jet with what appeared to be 5 F-16s (or much smaller planes) accompanying it. The jet took a hard right, and all of the smaller planes were right with it on cue. This was about 5 miles north of New Braunfels and it was heading north, then took a hard turn east and went steady that way. Flew pretty low. Just wondering if the President was making a stop in Crawford or something? I can't think of another instance where that kind of escort is needed (unless there was a security risk of some sort, but there would have been news I would think)
Air Force One wouldn't fly that low. Shoulder-launched SAMs and all... It never requires more than a couple of F-15/16s anyway. Living in New Braunfels myself, I can say that those kinds of flights are not really uncommon. Probably a training flight. Can't fly formation/close escort without training for it...
Funny ... I commented that to my brother. I was assuming the plane was landing soon and that's why it needed more escorts.... also assumed that Air Force One was loaded with enough decoy stuff that a SAM wouldn't hit it.... but admittedly I know nothing about that That's probably what it was. Thanks treeman. It freaked me out at first ... never seen anything like that -- my "fear the worst" mind first reacted as "why is a commercial jet being escorted by military fighters?" Strange sight to see.
The White House site had him in Washington DC earlier in the afternoon. When do his daughters have Spring Break? He is supposed to meet with President Fox in Mexico on March 22, so a stopover in Texas is possible later this month. Mango
ROTFLMAO! Jenna's pretty hot, BTW. Clutch: Decoys are never enough insurance to prevent a hit (or near-miss, which is enough to bring down an airliner). They fly high, except for after takeoff or when they're coming down. If you see a commercial airliner escorted by fighters nowadays, then there might actually be a reason to be concerned. But over the SA-area skies, they're a dime a dozen. Too many training flights - many of them exceptionally wierd - to be concerned... I could swear I've seen UFOs around here...
You know what, at 8:30, there was a plane that was flying awful low. Things that make you go hmmm.........
One of the coolest things I've seen was when Clinton's daughter was leaving for Stanford. The White House lawn looked like disney land. It was jam packed with Rollercoasters and all kinds of stuff. It was so full that the presidential helicopter had to take off from the reflecting pool. They zipped right across the reflecting pool and water was flaring up like the parting of the red sea. It was damn cool. I saw Hillary, Bill, and Chelsea in one shot.
