
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, July 17, 1990                   TAG: 9007170272
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

AIR FORCE ONE IS READY IF BUSH WANTS TO VISIT

Air Force One swooped into Roanoke Monday afternoon and then roared away before many people noticed.

Not that it really mattered, though. President Bush was not on board.

"It was just a routine training maneuver," said Jacqueline Shuck, executive director of Roanoke Regional Airport. "No president."

Shuck said a Boeing 707 with the president's insignia conducted a "touch and go" - a practice in which the aircraft barely bumps the runway before becoming airborne again.

The idea was to familiarize the crew with the airport's layout and landing procedures in the event that the president should ever need - or want - to land in Roanoke.

Actually, the huge aircraft that buzzed Roanoke about 3 p.m. was not the one and only Air Force One. Shuck explained there are several Air Force planes that carry the president, and that the cargo is a prerequisite for the name.

"Whatever plane the president is on is then declared to be Air Force One," she said.

The last time Air Force One was in Roanoke was May 12, when Bush stopped here en route to speak at Liberty University in Lynchburg.

by CNB