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Today I listened to a new station - The Presidents Plane!

S

Skynet74

With the stale state of Providence radio it's only a matter of time before you start looking for new things to listen to. So I recently purchased a Police Scanner. Not only does this thing pick up transmissions from fire and police. But it also picks up CB Radio, Ham Radio, Cabs, hospitals, Airlines and God only knows what else. So today I was monitoring the skies and I heard a transmission from Air Force One. The Presidents plane. Apparently he was flying close enough to me where I could pick up his plane. Maybe if there is a pilot reading this you can tell me what the message means. What is Nellie??? The Pilot says direct to Nellie. I don't know where that is or what that means. Click the link below to listen

http://www.zshare.net/audio/72073686b89dfbe0/
 
It could be either "Nellie" or "Nelly".

A name used in the sort of context you linked is an air traffic control authorization to a pilot to proceed, in a straight line, to the named point.

Airways intersections commonly have five-letter names so I'd bet on it being "NELLY". It's where two Victor Airways cross....similarly for higher-altitude jet routes. One such on the route from Providence to Windsor Locks (Hartford) is at the intersection of V14 and V405. The waypoint in named "BLATT". There are other interesting names; one near Foster called "FOSTY" and another, a little north, called "BOSOX".

I haven't been able to find an alphabetic listing, so couldn't tell you where "NELLY" might be.

At first I thought it might be vernacular referring to Nellis AFB but you're probably not anywhere near Nevada so I discount that possibility.

If you're really looking for alternative programming, try very low on the AM dial...well below 530. It's though with today's digital-tuned radios but an old analog receiver might find you some NDB's (non-directional beacons) hammering out call signs in Morse and with voice weather and/or terminal information.
 
VelvetR said:
It could be either "Nellie" or "Nelly".

A name used in the sort of context you linked is an air traffic control authorization to a pilot to proceed, in a straight line, to the named point.

Airways intersections commonly have five-letter names so I'd bet on it being "NELLY". It's where two Victor Airways cross....similarly for higher-altitude jet routes. One such on the route from Providence to Windsor Locks (Hartford) is at the intersection of V14 and V405. The waypoint in named "BLATT". There are other interesting names; one near Foster called "FOSTY" and another, a little north, called "BOSOX".

I haven't been able to find an alphabetic listing, so couldn't tell you where "NELLY" might be.

At first I thought it might be vernacular referring to Nellis AFB but you're probably not anywhere near Nevada so I discount that possibility.
Click to expand...


After I heard the transmission from his plane I decided to take a look at his schedule today. Here it is

In the morning, the President will receive the Presidential Daily Briefing, the Economic Daily Briefing, and the Oval Office. These meetings are closed press.

The President will then travel to Nashua, New Hampshire. The departure from the South Lawn and the arrival at Manchester Airport in Manchester, New Hampshire are open press.

The President will tour a local business in Nashua. There will be travel pool coverage of the tour. The President will then hold a town hall meeting at Nashua High School North where he will discuss details of a new small business lending proposal. This event is open press.

The President will return to Washington, DC later in the evening. The departure from Manchester Airport and the arrival at the White House are open press.


So I must have picked up the transmission from his plane while he was headed to New Hampshire, or when he was on his way back to Washington. I'm not sure which.
 
A quick check of the online navigation charts didn't turn up an intersection anywhere near Manchester named "NELLY" but a VHF transmission from a 747 at about 30,000 feet travels a long way so there could be such a "place" anywhere along the East Coast.

Back in the day I was able to work Quonset RAPCON (radar approach control) not long after departing Flushing Airport, across the river from LaGuardia, climbing up through 5,000 feet. And believe me, the radios in AF-1 are much more powerful than anything I had!
 
Thanks for all your info. It's very much appreciated. From what I can tell, Obama was only in two places yesterday. Manchester, New Hampshire and Washington DC. So I don't know where Nelly refers to. Common sense would say for it to be one of those two places. You couldn't find it on your charts though, so maybe not. Oh well.... I guess it wil just be a mystery for now. Thanks again for your help.
 
Skynet74 said:
So I recently purchased a Police Scanner. Not only does this thing pick up transmissions from fire and police. But it also picks up CB Radio, Ham Radio, Cabs, hospitals, Airlines and God only knows what else.
Click to expand...

For ham radio, check out www.nerepeaters.com (New England Repeater Directory). I am one of the staff members of that site which has a history of over 10 years now along with Jeff L. who also posts here. You will find the most activity on 2 meters (144 MHz). If you click on that band at the header menu, you can then sort the data by state, frequency, county, etc. The most popular 2 meter repeater in RI could very well be 146.760 in Scituate.

Skynet74 said:
What is Nellie??? The Pilot says direct to Nellie. I don't know where that is or what that means.
Click to expand...

Could "Nelly" be some sort of code word? After all, this is Air Force One and I am sure security for the president is top priority. The artist "Nelly" had a hit song called "Air Force Ones" in 2002 by the way. Maybe no connection, but... :)
 
Well this is also from the Presidents schedule yesterday

4:10PM THE PRESIDENT departs Manchester, New Hampshire en route Andrews Air Force Base

This is when I heard the transmission. Somewhere around 4:30 this afternoon. So apparently Andrews Air Force Base was referred to as Nelly.
 
Richard J. Cabral said:
For ham radio, check out www.nerepeaters.com (New England Repeater Directory). I am one of the staff members of that site which has a history of over 10 years now along with Jeff L. who also posts here. You will find the most activity on 2 meters (144 MHz). If you click on that band at the header menu, you can then sort the data by state, frequency, county, etc. The most popular 2 meter repeater in RI could very well be 146.760 in Scituate.
Click to expand...


Thanks for Tip. I believe that I already have 146.760 programmed into my scanner. (let me go check). I've got these.

Ham Radio

141. 927.8625
142. 146.7650
143. 146.7000
 
Nothing new - been listening to aircraft transmissions for years now!

There was also a C17 transport, and A320 with the press corp supporting the visit at MHT today.

KELLI is a waypoint about 11 miles from Lebanon airport in NH, not too far from Washburn Corner. This may be the reporting point you heard refered to.. There is a Nelli but that is out in AK.. A useful website to go to is www.airnav.com

Also - flightaware.com is great for tracking aircraft.. Note that AirForce One doesnt show!!

Regards

Geoff
 
jazzjock said:
Nothing new - been listening to aircraft transmissions for years now!
to go to is www.airnav.com

Also - flightaware.com is great for tracking aircraft.. Note that AirForce One doesnt show!!

Regards

Geoff
Click to expand...


Yeah Flightaware is great. I used it all afternoon yesterday. Seems to be a 5 minute delay with it though. Don't know if this is for security purposes or just because it takes that long for them to enter coordinates into their computers and generate maps. But anyway.... wherever it tells you a plane is, that is where the plane was 5 minutes ago.

I like to enter the location coordinates into Google maps. http://www.googlemaps.com . It will tell you the exact addresses the plane has flown over. The track log feature is really good on "Flightaware" for helping out with that.
 
It's official. A policy scanner is better than Providence radio.
 
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