Bill Clinton visits NK, but how?

Kim Jong Il got the equivalent to receiving 2000 Miss America at the royal palace in 2009!
 
I wanna know where the gold at?


....or....


What's up with the map shortage?
 
I can see Tucson from my house, true story! So I'm ready to be mayor.
 
Craig Ferguson said Clinton was chosen for his expertise in slipping women out of government buildings. He also noted how much things have changed in 10 yrs. The women said that when they saw Bill, they knew their nightmare was over. 10 yrs ago it would have just been the beginning.

Lots of good punches at Bill.. all in good humor.
 
drunkenbeagle said:
Didn't Delta start service to Moscow back in the 60's?

Anyway, I wish they would go into DME instead of SVO. DME is such a better airport, and the train goes right there.
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I'm not sure when. I presume it was after the Pan Am acquisition, but I'm not sure.

SVO's got a train that goes to the city now! Just got completed this year sometime.
 
drunkenbeagle said:
Didn't Delta start service to Moscow back in the 60's?

Anyway, I wish they would go into DME instead of SVO. DME is such a better airport, and the train goes right there.
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Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo, and Domodedovo all have train service now. Not bad when the traffic is bad. I fly out of Domodedovo and like it MUCH more than the other two but that is just my opinion.
 
fsiflyer said:
Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo, and Domodedovo all have train service now. Not bad when the traffic is bad. I fly out of Domodedovo and like it MUCH more than the other two but that is just my opinion.
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Did they ever fix the radar at SVO? Last year when I went, I remember having to give position reports on the transition.

"Delta 30 say position and altitude"

"Uhh! Procedure turn inbound approaching XXX, 900 meters standard!"
 
drunkenbeagle said:
Didn't Delta start service to Moscow back in the 60's?
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Delta was still flying DC-7s and Convairs in the early 60s. They did get their first DC-8 in 1959 but it was used on ATL-LAX. Delta was still a domestic carrier for the most part. Pan Am and a few others were international flag carriers.
 
Orange Anchor said:
Delta was still flying DC-7s and Convairs in the early 60s. They did get their first DC-8 in 1959 but it was used on ATL-LAX. Delta was still a domestic carrier for the most part. Pan Am and a few others were international flag carriers.
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Just looked it up, Pan Am started Moscow service from NY in 1968. Delta bought the route in 1991.
 
Orange Anchor said:
Delta was still flying DC-7s and Convairs in the early 60s. They did get their first DC-8 in 1959 but it was used on ATL-LAX. Delta was still a domestic carrier for the most part. Pan Am and a few others were international flag carriers.
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TWA!!!

TWA rocked harder than Pan Am!
 
From Aviation International News:

Avjet Plays Key Role in Clinton’s Mission to N. Korea

Aircraft management and charter firm Avjet held a crucial role in the air transportation for former President Bill Clinton on his visit to North Korea on Tuesday. Clinton’s mission to the North Korean capital of Pyongyang secured the release of two imprisoned American television journalists. The former president traveled to Pyongang aboard a Boeing Business Jet operated by Avjet and owned by Steve Bing, owner of Shangri-La Entertainment and a long-time friend of Clinton. Bing also paid for the entire trip, Avjet told AIN. Planning for the mission began last Friday, and on the following day Avjet secured an FAA exemption and letter of authorization to conduct the flight to North Korea. In coordination with the U.S. State Department, FAA and U.S. Air Force, the aircraft flew on Monday from Burbank, Calif., to Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska, to Misawa Air Force Base in Misawa, Japan, and on to Pyongyang Sunan Airport, for a total flight time of 14 hours. After 20 hours in Pyongyang, the BBJ headed back to Burbank yesterday with Clinton’s team, the two released journalists and the six-person Avjet flight crew. “We are honored to have been selected as the global air transportation partner for this historic humanitarian mission,” said Avjet senior vice president Andrew Bradley.
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Aviation Week said:
The unofficial diplomatic mission done and a complete success, the operator of the Boeing Business Jet that transported former president Bill Clinton from the US to North Korea on Monday Aug. 3 and back on Tuesday Aug. 4 is now free to provide details of the that flight resulted in the release of American journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling who returned with Clinton to Burbank. The aircraft is managed and operated by Burbank, Calif.-based Avjet Corp.

"We got the request on Friday, July 31 at 11:00 AM and immediately we called the U.S. Department of State for assistance," Marc Foulkrod, Avjet's chairman and CEO, said. "We had to get a waiver from SFAR 79 that prohibits flights to North Korea, obtain an overflight permit from Russia, arrange for flight coordination between Japan and North Korea, set up ground support at Elmendorf AFB near Anchorage and Misawa AFB in Japan, request special Customs and Immigration services at Burbank, vet our crews with U.S. Secret Service and pre-position pilots in Alaska. We also had to coordinate with FAA and the U.S. Department of Defense because of the special and sensitive nature of the mission. State Department made it happen. Sixty-six hours later, we were airborne from Burbank to Pyongyang via Elmendorf and Misawa with President Clinton's team at 3:00 AM on Monday."

The mission was conducted as a private flight in accordance with FAR Part 91, sponsored by the aircraft's owner, Stephen Bing of L.A.-based Shangri-la Entertainment. Bing's BBJ has seven aux fuel tanks, giving it a 12.5 hour endurance and a 5,500 nm range. However, the longest leg on the Pyongyang trip was the 2,700+ nm, six-hour leg between Elmendorf AFB and Misawa AFB.

After departing Burbank early Monday morning, the Avjet crew flew the Clinton team to Elmendorf AFB where the aircraft was refueled and the second flight crew boarded the airplane. It then flew to Misawa AFB where it again was refueled and the first crew was dropped off, along with the flight attendants and other non-essential personnel.

The aircraft then departed for North Korea with President Clinton's team. The great circle distance from Misawa AFB to Pyongyang only is 726 miles, but the BBJ spent an hour in a holding pattern in Japanese airspace before being given clearance by the North Koreans to continue to Pyongyang. Foulkrod believes it was escorted by North Korean fighters during the entire time it operated in North Korean airspace.

The aircraft remained on the ground in Pyongyang for 20 hours during the President's diplomatic mission. The flight crew remained on board the aircraft during the layover. Once the President's team was safely back aboard with Lee and Ling, it departed for Misawa AFB, picked up the other crew members and few directly home to Burbank.

Foulkrod said the mission was tough, especially considering the short lead time during which all the preparations had to be completed. Bu he says the mission is generating a lot of new business leads for his company.
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