The President is Coming!

When I was at the South Street Seaport, I saw a lot of helicopters coming and going from the Wall Street Heliport. So I decided to walk a few blocks down to watch the activities. As I was walking I saw two heavy lift helicopters over Brooklyn, flying in formation. "Hmmmm, I thought - those are the kind of helicopters that accompany the President!" Then I remembered getting an email from the FAA announcing a "Temporary Flight Restriction" in NYC. Oh boy! It IS the President. Then, as the big helicopters came in and landed, I saw in the distance two of the helicopters that carry the president also in formation. There are always two of the aircraft flying together - that way no one would know which aircraft carries the president. Anyhow, all four of them eventually landed, and sat there with their engines running. I waited and waited, and no one got out. After about 10 or 15 minutes the two presidential aircraft took off and then a few minutes later, the heavy lift helos. They headed off in different directions. Where was the president, and how come he didn't get out? When I got home, I looked up the notice, and the flight restriction was for the following day! So this must have been just a dry run. Still, it was pretty exciting and an impressive thing to see, even from a distance through a 300mm telephoto lens. These heavy lift helos, by the way, carry the bulletproof presidential limousines. In the distance in this photograph, you can see one of the "Marine One" helos that carry the President.