Air Force One Travels from Andrews AFB to the Coast Guard Academy

By

OSIN

(Scenario III)

The images for this scenario are located here. In this scenario AF-1 will be traveling from Andrews AFB to the Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT to give the commencement address. I will make the following assumptions:

1. The entire route AF-1 will take is probably unpredictable due to the large number of possible routes, but might be more predictable as one comes closer to the point of destination or departure.
2. Nearby VORs/VORTACs will be key navigation tools in guiding AF-1 to its destination.
3. There are no intermediate stops along the way.

Airnav.com says this about the trip: 268 nautical miles, NE, initial true course 054 degrees. The longest runway at Groton is about 5000 feet, so I'm not clear if Bush takes the 747 or the 757 when he travels here.

Since I will be concentrating on both the departure and destination points, this scenario and subsequent phases 4&5 (see Project2 Homepage) will be structured around Andrews AFB and Groton-New London.

Andrews AFB

According to http://www.airnav.com, these are the nearby VORs/VORTACs around Andrews:

Red Star- Andrews Vortac (ADW)- at field (-76.8662511 38.8072125)
2- Washington VOR (DCA)- 8.4 miles from ADW (-77.0364350 38.8594531)
3- Nottingham VORTAC (OTT)- 8.5 miles from ADW (-76.7447453 38.7058667)
4- Baltimore VORTAC (BAL)- 23.6 miles from ADW (-76.6612561 39.1710636)
5- Armel VORTAC (AML)- 29 miles from ADW (-77.4666953 38.9345964)
6- Brooke VORTAC (BRV)- 36.5 miles from ADW (-77.3529033 38.3362833)
7- Patuxent VORTAC (PXT)- 38.3 miles from ADW (-76.4002250 38.2878472)

Nearby Airports:
Ronald Reagon National
Dulles International
Dover AFB (Delaware)

Military Assistance: 113th Fighter Wing (Andrews)

Secret Service Offices that can provide assistance:
Washington, D.C. HQ
Eastern Shore Office at the Naval Academy
Baltimore (possibly)

Groton-New London Airport (GON)

In May 2003 the graduation ceremony was held on Cadet Nitchman Field (the group of fields on the east side next to the river). It appears they like to have their graduation ceremonies the third week of May on Wednesdays. If that is the case, then the next one may be on May 23, 2007, the next time I expect the President to give the commencement address. Another article on the Internet mentions that AF-1 left Groton-New London Airport at 2pm after Bush had given his speech. The green dot on the map shows the approximate location of the Coast Guard Academy. I'm guessing the President would take a motorcade to get there.

According to Airnav.com, these are the closest VORs/VORTACs:
Red Star- Groton VOR (GON)- at field (41.330417 -72.0519844)
2- Norwich VOR (ORW)- 13.7 miles from GON- (41.5564014 -71.9993614)
3- Sandy Point VOR (SEY)- 23.3 miles from GON- (41.1674356 -71.5760856)
4- Hampton VORTAC (HTO)- 27.5 miles from GON- (40.9190000 -72.3166944)
5- Madison VOR (MAD)- 29.2 miles from GON- (41.3138475 -72.6921786)
6- Hartford VOR (HFD)- 29.3 miles from GON- (41.6411047 -72.5474181)
7- Providence VORTAC (PVD)- 36.4 miles from GON- (41.7243442 -71.4296386)
8- New Haven VOR (HVN)- 38.1 miles from GON- (41.2623128 -72.8851906)
9- Putnam VOR (PUT)- 38.6 miles from GON- (41.9554589 -71.8440986)

Nearby Airports:
Bradley International
La Guardia
JFK
Boston-Logan

Military Assistance: 103rd Fighter Wing at Bradley Airport

Secret Service offices that could provide assistance-
New Haven
Providence