Tag Archives: VIP

Veep Comes To Town

The Vice President made a visit to Seattle a while back.  Much of the discussion was about how the traffic downtown could be disrupted but the first thought that I had was that there would be jets visiting.  I was unable to see anything of the visit of Air Force One and the Marine Corps support when the president came to town but I was able to catch the Veep’s jet.  For this visit, Air Force Two was provided by a USAF C-32.  It arrived while I was elsewhere but I was able to catch it depart.

It was parked over near Modern Aviation and, when the motorcade arrived and delivered everybody, they were swiftly on their way.  The taxi route came out towards me and then direct on to the runway to backtrack.  Since a TFR was in effect, no one else was flying so no need to use the taxiway.  Just straight back down the runway, do a 180 and power away.  I think the 757 is a good looking jet and the C-32  certainly looks great.  They were off the ground swiftly and climbing away.

VIP Travel USAF Style

The USAF operates a small fleet of Boeing 757s for VIP transport.  These C-32s are often thought of for their role transporting the Vice President when they adopt the call sign of Air Force Two.  However, they transport a lot more people than just the Veep with other cabinet officials using them as well as senior Air Force staff.

One of them was at Paine Field for a while.  I had heard that it had flown in but had assumed it had gone again.  When I went up one evening after work (when the light was looking great and another jet I was interested in was due back), the people there told me it was still around.  I figured it would be there for a lot longer and paid no further attention until someone noticed that it had moved out of its parking area on to a taxiway.

As with all of these things, nothing happened fast.  Since the light was just getting better and better, I didn’t mind too much.  Eventually a bunch of the passengers showed up – that will warrant its own post – and then they started up and taxied.  They had to hold for a short while near the threshold so there was lots of time to get some shots.  Then they were off.  I figured, being a 757, they would be airborne quickly. They must have been heavy, though, since they ran a long way down the field before rotating.

C-32s

The demise of a bunch of airline fleets of 757s at the moment is a shame as it is a type I was always fond of from the days of British Airways using them for shuttle services around the UK as well as being the first commercial jet I flew on heading to Lisbon from Heathrow.  The military has also made use of the jet of course.  The New Zealand 757 displays in the past have been pretty impressive and maybe that gives me an idea for a future post.  The USAF has a bunch of them, designated as C-32, and they are used for VIP transportation.

They are not a type that you often come across but I have seen them on a few occasions.  An Andrews AFB Open House provided one movement – they are based there so not such a surprise.  Another was at Nellis AFB when one launched just prior to a Red Flag launch when we were waiting between the runways for the action to kick off.  The VIP colors of the USAF jets are quite elegant and they suit the 757 nicely.