… if he’ll let us fly his Boeing 757 for a couple of hours. Taxiing off Runway 11 this evening at Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, Massachusetts I noticed that Kerry’s personal airliner had been updated with a “Kerry-Edwards” graphic. The plane has always looked fabulous and though all of my pilot friends are terrified of Kerry winning (because of the inevitable airspace restrictions around New England that would ensue) those of us with multi-engine ratings have agreed that we would definitely vote for the man if he would let us fly his 757.
Speaking of Kerry, does anyone know where exactly in Massachusetts he is supposed to have grown up? His official biography says that he “returned home” to Massachusetts but doesn’t say anything about which town. Given how different in character the towns of this state are, I’m surprised that they aren’t more specific. Anyone know?
[Flying down to the Eastern Shore of Maryland on Friday I got a good preview of what life will be like for New England pilots should Kerry be elected. Flying over Connecticut on a magnetic heading of approximately 230 I was monitoring 121.5 megahertz, the standard emergency frequency. I heard the following call “Aircraft heading 230 at an altitude of approximately 4200′: This is the U.S. Air Force. You are in a restricted area and must immediately turn to a heading of 360 or you may be fired upon.” Note that the Air Force did not say where the plane was, not even which state. I assumed that this was a puny Cessna somewhere near York, Pennsylvania where Kerry and Edwards were doing a tour but could not rule out the possibility that it was my plane. I was at 8500′ but the Garmin transponder in my airplane has a history of flakiness so conceivably it could have been telling Air Traffic Control that I was instead at 4200′.]
Wouldn’t the air defence radars have something more sophisticated, like 3D radar, rather than having to rely on transponders?
I mean, I doubt Soviet bombers would turn on their transponders to let the USAF know where to meet them for some fun and games…
I first met Kerry during his VVAW days when he was starting a congressional run. This was in Concord, MA. I think this was 1970. By then he was living in Massachusetts, somewhere in the same district as Concord. I don’t recall learning where he lived, just that he was a junior politician with tremendous ambitions. Drinan got the congressional nod and was much further left wing than Kerry.
Kerry was actually born in Denver, Colorado.
phil, r u serious mate? u sound like u might be a bit sarcastic i can never tell w/u. voting based on your freedom to fly ur plane = wacked if true. esp for a monster like bush. michael
Kerry was born at a military hospital in Denver, and was raised primarily (his father was in the foreign service, so they moved around a bit) in Concord. So, at least he doesn’t fit your profile of a president from a small town with an oversized ego as a result.
Michael: Because I live in Massachusetts it doesn’t matter for whom I vote and therefore I haven’t given it much thought (I’ll very likely be out of the country during the election anyway). On the other hand facing 8 years of highway shutdowns, public transit shutdowns, blocked-off streets in downtown Boston and Nantucket, and the very real possibility of being shot down in one’s little airplane or helicopter is enough to make one think that perhaps it is better when our presidents come from the South or West.
Kerry does not appear, for all his smarts, to know whether he is Irish, Jewish, German, or whatnot. Kerry *sounds* Irish, which can’t hurt in Mass., but apparently Granpa Kerry changed his name from something like Kohn or Koln (unsure of umlauts if any) back in the day.
I would not worry about Massachusetts air and ground traffic.
He (Kerry) will proably hang out in one of his wifes many estates for relaxation if he makes it to president. Pitty the people in Sun Valley Idaho! One main road in and a very small airfield.