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61-583: Marine Corps Air Facility Quantico (MCAF Quantico) ( IATA : NYG , ICAO : KNYG , FAA LID : NYG ) is a United States Marine Corps airfield located within Marine Corps Base Quantico , Virginia . It was commissioned in 1919 and is currently home to HMX-1 , the squadron that flies the President of the United States . The airfield is also known as Turner Field , after Colonel Thomas C. Turner ,

122-639: A Sikorsky UH-34 Seahorse helicopter was commissioned. The early aircraft lacked the amenities of its modern successors, such as air conditioning and an aircraft lavatory for use in flight. In 1958, the H-13 was replaced by the Sikorsky H-34, which was succeeded in 1961 by the VH-3A . Not long after helicopters for presidential transport were introduced, presidential aides asked the Marine Corps to investigate using

183-509: A curving flight path) at a speed of approximately 25 mph. To this success was added the flight on 28 November 1896 of the Langley Aerodrome #6 (which was a re-engineered version of Langley Aerodrome #4) in a similar location alongside Chopawamsic Island. Aerodrome #6 was also launched from a houseboat unpiloted and steam powered and flew 1460 m/4,790 ft. Both Aerodromes #5 and #6 used gasoline as heat fuel to vaporize water to power

244-492: A large man-carrying Aerodrome with a sophisticated gasoline-powered rotary engine, was on 7 October 1903 from a larger houseboat moored near Widewater, Virginia, in the Potomac River a few miles south of present-day MCAF Quantico and the earlier successful Aerodrome #5 and #6 flights. This first attempt with Aerodrome A ended in failure, and the experiment was tried again after repairs were made on 8 December 1903 (nine days before

305-550: A new airport is built, replacing the old one, leaving the city's new "major" airport (or the only remaining airport) code to no longer correspond with the city's name. The original airport in Nashville, Tennessee, was built in 1936 as part of the Works Progress Administration and called Berry Field with the designation, BNA. A new facility known as Nashville International Airport was built in 1987 but still uses BNA. This

366-571: A story told by Bruce Babbitt , President Clinton, in his final days of office, while flying over and landing in a remote area near the Grand Canyon , found a Marine waiting on the rock ready to salute him. Marine aviators flying Marine One do not wear regular flight suits during flights, but rather the Marine Blue Dress Charlie uniform . At a presidential inauguration, the Marines offer

427-489: A veteran Marine aviator and the second director of Marine Corps Aviation, who lost his life in Haiti in 1931. On 12 August 2010, a new Quantico air facility to accommodate maintenance and storage of HMX-1 helicopters was dedicated in honor of Marine One founding commander Col. Virgil D. Olson (1919–2012). Aviation first arrived at Quantico on 6 May 1896 when Dr. Samuel Pierpont Langley (1834–1906), Astronomer and third Secretary of

488-499: Is GSN and its IATA code is SPN, and some coincide with IATA codes of non-U.S. airports. Canada's unusual codes—which bear little to no similarity with any conventional abbreviation to the city's name—such as YUL in Montréal , and YYZ in Toronto , originated from the two-letter codes used to identify weather reporting stations in the 1930s. The letters preceding the two-letter code follow

549-419: Is also equipped with standard military anti-missile countermeasures such as flares to counter heat-seeking missiles and chaff to counter radar-guided missiles, as well as AN/ALQ-144 A infrared countermeasures. To add to the security of Marine One, every member of HMX-1 is required to pass a Yankee White background check before touching any of the helicopters used for presidential travel. Marine One

610-544: Is available. However, many railway administrations have their own list of codes for their stations, such as the list of Amtrak station codes . Airport codes arose out of the convenience that the practice brought pilots for location identification in the 1930s. Initially, pilots in the United States used the two-letter code from the National Weather Service (NWS) for identifying cities. This system became unmanageable for cities and towns without an NWS identifier, and

671-781: Is based in MCAF Quantico , Virginia , with an additional operating location at Naval Support Facility Anacostia in the District of Columbia, but is more often seen in action on the South Lawn of the White House or at Joint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility in Maryland . At Andrews, the helicopter is sometimes used to connect to Air Force One for longer journeys. Marine One is met on the ground by at least one Marine in full dress uniform (most often two, with one acting as an armed guard). According to

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732-518: Is different from the name in English, yet the airport code represents only the English name. Examples include: Due to scarcity of codes, some airports are given codes with letters not found in their names: The use of 'X' as a filler letter is a practice to create three-letter identifiers when more straightforward options were unavailable: Some airports in the United States retained their NWS ( National Weather Service ) codes and simply appended an X at

793-650: Is governed by IATA Resolution 763, and it is administered by the IATA's headquarters in Montreal , Canada. The codes are published semi-annually in the IATA Airline Coding Directory. IATA provides codes for airport handling entities, and for certain railway stations. Alphabetical lists of airports sorted by IATA code are available. A list of railway station codes , shared in agreements between airlines and rail lines such as Amtrak , SNCF , and Deutsche Bahn ,

854-513: Is in conjunction to rules aimed to avoid confusion that seem to apply in the United States, which state that "the first and second letters or second and third letters of an identifier may not be duplicated with less than 200 nautical miles separation." Thus, Washington, D.C. area's three airports all have radically different codes: IAD for Washington–Dulles , DCA for Washington–Reagan (District of Columbia Airport), and BWI for Baltimore (Baltimore–Washington International, formerly BAL). Since HOU

915-532: Is not followed outside the United States: In addition, since three letter codes starting with Q are widely used in radio communication, cities whose name begins with "Q" also had to find alternate codes, as in the case of: IATA codes should not be confused with the FAA identifiers of U.S. airports. Most FAA identifiers agree with the corresponding IATA codes, but some do not, such as Saipan , whose FAA identifier

976-471: Is the preferred alternative to motorcades , which can be expensive and logistically difficult. The controlled environment of a helicopter is also considered to add a safety factor. The HMX-1 fleet is also used to transport senior Cabinet staff and foreign dignitaries. HMX-1 operates 35 helicopters of four different types as of 2009. More than 800 Marines supervise the operation of the Marine One fleet, which

1037-416: Is used for William P. Hobby Airport , the new Houston–Intercontinental became IAH. The code BKK was originally assigned to Bangkok–Don Mueang and was later transferred to Suvarnabhumi Airport , while the former adopted DMK. The code ISK was originally assigned to Gandhinagar Airport (Nashik's old airport) and later on transferred to Ozar Airport (Nashik's current airport). Shanghai–Hongqiao retained

1098-561: The Canadian transcontinental railroads were built, each station was assigned its own two-letter Morse code : When the Canadian government established airports, it used the existing railway codes for them as well. If the airport had a weather station, authorities added a "Y" to the front of the code, meaning "Yes" to indicate it had a weather station or some other letter to indicate it did not. When international codes were created in cooperation with

1159-575: The President of the United States and provides helicopter support for the Marine Corps Combat Development Command . On 1 October 2005, MCAF Quantico was reorganized under the Commander, Marine Corps Installations National Capital Region (MCINCR) , headquartered at Marine Corps Base Quantico , Virginia . Units based at MCAF Quantico. Deputy Commandant for Aviation IATA airport code The assignment of these codes

1220-406: The president of the United States . As of 2024, it denotes a presidential transport helicopter operated by Marine Helicopter Squadron One ( HMX-1 ) "Nighthawks", consisting of either the large new VH-92A Patriot and smaller VH-60N "White Hawk" . Both helicopters are called "White Tops" because of their livery . Any Marine Corps aircraft carrying the vice president of the United States without

1281-720: The Corps created an Initial Capabilities Document (ICD), which more clearly outlined the aircraft's requirements. The Department approved the ICD in August 2009, naming it the VXX Helicopter Replacement Program. In February 2010, the Navy asked private industry for input in an Analysis of Alternatives (AOA) to meet the project's needs. Among the options the Navy suggested was purchasing a single aircraft but developing two versions. Another option

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1342-440: The Navy awarded Sikorsky Aircraft a $ 1.2 billion contract to build 6 presidential helicopters, designated Sikorsky VH-92 . A fleet of 21 helicopters was expected to be in service by 2023. A VH-92 made its inaugural flight as Marine One on the afternoon of 19 August 2024, when President Joe Biden rode from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport to Soldier Field en route to the 2024 Democratic National Convention . Marine One

1403-661: The Navy said it intended to spend $ 500 million to keep the VH-3Ds and VH-60s flying. Boeing said it could adapt the VH-71, if the Navy and Marine Corps wished. In July 2013, the Department of Defense waived the requirement that companies build prototypes. The Department's analysis showed the cost of making prototypes was unlikely to generate benefits. The Department said it was proceeding with VXX development using an in-production aircraft with existing, proven systems. A draft request for proposals

1464-493: The Smithsonian Institution, launched his successful Aerodrome #5, a steam engine powered, unpiloted aircraft from a houseboat in the shadow of Chopawamsic Island adjacent to the present-day approach end of Runway 20 at Quantico Marine Corps Air Facility. The #5 Aerodrome made two successful flights that afternoon, one of 1005 m/3300 ft and a second of 700 m/2300 ft (these are horizontal distances measured along

1525-508: The U.S. For example, several airports in Alaska have scheduled commercial service, such as Stebbins and Nanwalek , which use FAA codes instead of ICAO codes. Thus, neither system completely includes all airports with scheduled service. Some airports are identified in colloquial speech by their IATA code. Examples include LAX and JFK . Marine One Marine One is the call sign of any United States Marine Corps aircraft carrying

1586-481: The United States, because "Y" was seldom used in the United States, Canada simply used the weather station codes for its airports, changing the "Y" to a "Z" if it conflicted with an airport code already in use. The result is that most major Canadian airport codes start with "Y" followed by two letters in the city's name (for example, YOW for O tta w a , YWG for W innipe g , YYC for C algar y , or YVR for V ancouve r ), whereas other Canadian airports append

1647-453: The VH-3D. Improvements were made to both models of helicopter after their introduction, to take advantage of technological developments and to meet new mission requirements. By about 2001, it was clear that so much extra weight had been added to the helicopters that mission capability was reduced and few new improvements could be made. By 2009, there were 11 VH-3Ds and eight VH-60Ns in service for

1708-417: The VH-71 were due for delivery in 2010, with 23 of the upgraded version due in 2015. The goal was to retire all VH-3Ds and VH-60Ns, and the five initial VH-71s in 2015, leaving the Marine One fleet with 23 helicopters. By March 2008, the previously estimated $ 6bn cost of the 28 helicopters had increased to $ 11bn. Government officials were surprised to discover that each VH-71 would cost $ 400 million, more than

1769-591: The White House South Lawn for landing. There was ample room, and the protocol was established. Until 1976, the Marine Corps shared the responsibility of helicopter transportation for the president with the United States Army . Army helicopters used the call sign Army One while the president was on board. The VH-3D entered service in 1978. The VH-60N entered service in 1987 and has served alongside

1830-568: The White House asked the Secretary of Defense to accelerate development of the new aircraft; the Defense Department said a new helicopter would be ready by the end of 2008, and asked companies bidding on the project to begin development and production simultaneously. Many specifications for the new aircraft were secret. Industry publications and testimony at congressional briefings revealed it

1891-480: The Wright Brothers and their Flyer took to the air at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina). This second attempt at launching Aerodrome A also ended in failure. The pilot (Langley's assistant, Charles M. Manly) was not seriously injured. In July 1918, two kite balloons were flown to spot artillery fire. These forerunners of today's spotter aircraft were soon augmented with the assignment of four seaplanes, which operated from

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1952-523: The airfield. On 1 December 1941, the field was named Marine Corps Air Station Quantico, and placed under operational control of the Commanding General, Marine Barracks. In 1947, Marine Helicopter Squadron One was established at Quantico to pioneer an entirely new concept in air operation; to evaluate and test, in coordination with the Landing Force development Center, the theory of carrying troops to

2013-440: The airport itself instead of the city it serves, while another code is reserved which refers to the city itself which can be used to search for flights to any of its airports. For instance: Or using a code for the city in one of the major airports and then assigning another code to another airport: When different cities with the same name each have an airport, they need to be assigned different codes. Examples include: Sometimes,

2074-418: The airport's former name, such as Orlando International Airport 's MCO (for Mc C o y Air Force Base), or Chicago's O'Hare International Airport , which is coded ORD for its original name: Or char d Field. In rare cases, the code comes from the airport's unofficial name, such as Kahului Airport 's OGG (for local aviation pioneer Jimmy H ogg ). In large metropolitan areas, airport codes are often named after

2135-545: The battle zone by helicopter. By the close of the Korean War , helicopters had gained permanent acceptance by the military for tactical and logistical support operations. Effective 15 November 1976, MCAS Quantico was re-designated as Marine Corps Air Facility (MCAF), Quantico, Virginia. MCAF Quantico is currently the home of Headquarters Squadron (HqSqn), Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1), and home to Marine One . HMX-1 , in addition to its tactical development mission, flies

2196-452: The civilian aircraft would need. In June 2009, the VH-71 program was canceled because of cost overruns, which had grown to more than $ 13bn. A Government Accountability Office report issued in March 2011 named three sources of cost overruns. First, asking for development at the same time as production led to extensive retrofitting of models that had just been built. Second, a complete review of

2257-491: The code SHA, while the newer Shanghai–Pudong adopted PVG. The opposite was true for Berlin : the airport Berlin–Tegel used the code TXL, while its smaller counterpart Berlin–Schönefeld used SXF; the Berlin Brandenburg Airport has the airport code BER, which is also part of its branding. The airports of Hamburg (HAM) and Hannover (HAJ) are less than 100 nautical miles (190 km) apart and therefore share

2318-542: The contract were Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky Aircraft . Lockheed joined with AgustaWestland , a British and Italian aircraft company, to offer a version of the AgustaWestland AW101 . Sikorsky proposed using its S-92 . The Navy awarded the contract to Lockheed Martin in January 2005, to develop and build 28 helicopters. The helicopter was designated VH-71 Kestrel . Five of the initial, less sophisticated version of

2379-425: The cost of one Boeing VC-25 "Air Force One" airplane. Lockheed Martin blamed the Navy for the cost overruns, saying that more than 1,900 extra requirements were added to the project after the contract was signed. The Navy said no extra requirements were added. The company also cited the need to redesign the VH-71 to Navy standards, and an incomplete understanding by the Navy and Lockheed Martin of how much retrofitting

2440-919: The end. Examples include: A lot of minor airfields without scheduled passenger traffic have ICAO codes but not IATA codes, since the four letter codes allow more number of codes, and IATA codes are mainly used for passenger services such as tickets, and ICAO codes by pilots. In the US, such airfields use FAA codes instead of ICAO. There are airports with scheduled service for which there are ICAO codes but not IATA codes, such as Nkhotakota Airport/Tangole Airport in Malawi or Chōfu Airport in Tokyo, Japan. There are also several minor airports in Russia (e.g., Omsukchan Airport ) which lack IATA codes and instead use internal Russian codes for booking. Flights to these airports cannot be booked through

2501-557: The first three letters of the city in which it is located, for instance: The code may also be a combination of the letters in its name, such as: Sometimes the airport code reflects pronunciation, rather than spelling, namely: For many reasons, some airport codes do not fit the normal scheme described above. Some airports, for example, cross several municipalities or regions, and therefore, use codes derived from some of their letters, resulting in: Other airports—particularly those serving cities with multiple airports—have codes derived from

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2562-474: The following format: Most large airports in Canada have codes that begin with the letter "Y", although not all "Y" codes are Canadian (for example, YUM for Yuma, Arizona , and YNT for Yantai , China), and not all Canadian airports start with the letter "Y" (for example, ZBF for Bathurst, New Brunswick ). Many Canadian airports have a code that starts with W, X or Z, but none of these are major airports. When

2623-593: The form of " YYZ ", a song by the rock band Rush , which utilizes the Morse code signal as a musical motif. Some airports have started using their IATA codes as brand names , such as Calgary International Airport (YYC) and Vancouver International Airport (YVR). Numerous New Zealand airports use codes that contain the letter Z, to distinguish them from similar airport names in other countries. Examples include HLZ for Hamilton , ZQN for Queenstown , and WSZ for Westport . Predominantly, airport codes are named after

2684-551: The helicopter "would not work", so the president left the White House in a car. The September 11 attacks led to agreement that the Marine One helicopter fleet needed significant upgrades to its communication, transportation, and security systems, but weight limitations prevented the changes. In April 2002, the Department of Defense began the VXX program, which assigned the Navy to design new presidential helicopters by 2011. In November 2002,

2745-482: The international air booking systems or have international luggage transferred there, and thus, they are booked instead through the airline or a domestic booking system. Several heliports in Greenland have 3-letter codes used internally which might be IATA codes for airports in faraway countries. There are several airports with scheduled service that have not been assigned ICAO codes that do have IATA codes, especially in

2806-434: The limitations and hazards of Brown Field—its single, crosswind runway, bound by trees, hills, swamp, a high tension line and a railroad. A new airfield was constructed by changing the course and flow of Chopawamsic Creek and reclamation of the marshland from that area. The new facility was named Turner Field. By 1939, four squadrons—68 bombers, scout bombers, fighters, transports, utility and observation planes—were based at

2867-480: The muddy junction of Chopawamsic Creek and the Potomac River. In 1919, a flying field was laid out and the land leased to accommodate a squadron returning from World War I combat in Europe. The facility was later named Brown Field, in memory of 2ndLt Walter Vernon Brown, who lost his life nearby in an aviation accident on 9 June 1921. The present site was selected in 1931, when larger and faster planes brought recognition of

2928-612: The name of the airport itself, for instance: This is also true with some cities with a single airport (even if there is more than one airport in the metropolitan area of said city), such as BDL for Hartford, Connecticut 's B ra dl ey International Airport or Baltimore's BWI, for B altimore/ W ashington I nternational Airport ; however, the latter also serves Washington, D.C. , alongside Dulles International Airport (IAD, for I nternational A irport D ulles) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA, for D istrict of C olumbia A irport). The code also sometimes comes from

2989-416: The one they are located in: Other airport codes are of obscure origin, and each has its own peculiarities: In Asia, codes that do not correspond with their city's names include Niigata 's KIJ , Nanchang 's KHN and Pyongyang 's FNJ . EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg , which serves three countries, has three airport codes: BSL, MLH, EAP. Some cities have a name in their respective language which

3050-466: The outgoing president a final flight from the Capitol to Joint Base Andrews. As a security measure, Marine One often flies in a group of as many as five identical helicopters. One helicopter carries the president, while the others serve as decoys. Upon take-off these helicopters shift in formation to obscure the location of the president. This has been referred to as a "presidential shell game ". Marine One

3111-411: The president and other prominent individuals. On 16 July 2009, Marine One flew with an all-female crew for the first time. This was also the final flight of Major Jennifer Grieves, who was the first woman pilot to fly the president. As of 2009, Marine One had never had an accident or been attacked. However, in 2006, President George W. Bush boarded Marine One with his departing press secretary, but

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3172-574: The president has the call sign Marine Two . The first use of a helicopter to transport the president was in 1957, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower traveled on a Bell UH-13J Sioux . The president wanted a quick way to reach his summer home, in Pennsylvania. Using Air Force One would have been impractical over such a short distance, and there was no airfield near his home with a paved runway to support fixed-wing aircraft, so Eisenhower instructed his staff to investigate other modes of transport and

3233-501: The same first and middle letters, indicating that this rule might be followed only in Germany. Many cities retain historical names in their airport codes, even after having undergone an official name/spelling/transliteration change: Some airport codes are based on previous names associated with a present airport, often with a military heritage. These include: Some airports are named for an administrative division or nearby city, rather than

3294-497: The station code of Malton, Mississauga , where it is located). YUL is used for Montréal–Trudeau (UL was the ID code for the beacon in the city of Kirkland , now the location of Montréal–Trudeau). While these codes make it difficult for the public to associate them with a particular Canadian city, some codes have become popular in usage despite their cryptic nature, particularly at the largest airports. Toronto's code has entered pop culture in

3355-592: The steam engines. These successes were encouraging, and design and construction began on a Great Aerodrome, or Aerodrome A, which was intended to be large enough to carry a pilot. An unpiloted scale model of this design was built, named the Quarter-Scale Aerodrome, was powered by a gasoline engine and flew twice on 18 June 1901. Another flight of the Quarter-Scale was made with an improved engine on 8 August 1903. The first attempted test flight of Aerodrome A,

3416-438: The system's requirements was not made until 4 months after production started, and only then was it discovered that the VH-71's design could not meet the program's needs. Third, the Defense Department and the White House asked for excessive combat and communications capabilities. Shortly after the program's cancellation, the Marine Corps restarted the program. This time, instead of running development and production concurrently,

3477-504: The two-letter code of the radio beacons that were the closest to the actual airport, such as YQX in Gander or YXS in Prince George . Four of the ten provincial capital airports in Canada have ended up with codes beginning with YY, including: Canada's largest airport is YYZ for Toronto Pearson (as YTZ was already allocated to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport , the airport was given

3538-529: The use of two letters allowed only a few hundred combinations; a three-letter system of airport codes was implemented. This system allowed for 17,576 permutations, assuming all letters can be used in conjunction with each other. Since the U.S. Navy reserved "N" codes, and to prevent confusion with Federal Communications Commission broadcast call signs , which begin with "W" or "K", the airports of certain U.S. cities whose name begins with one of these letters had to adopt "irregular" airport codes: This practice

3599-552: Was released in November 2012. By August 2013, all interested companies, including Northrop Grumman – AgustaWestland and Bell –Boeing, had withdrawn from the VXX bidding, except Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky had partnered with Lockheed Martin, and said it intended to use the S-92 as the base aircraft. A new deadline in 2020 was established for the 23-helicopter fleet to be in operation. In May 2014,

3660-505: Was to be 64 feet (20 m) long, carry 14 passengers, able to carry several thousand pounds of baggage and gear, and have a range greater than those of the VH-3D and the VH-60N. The helicopter's defenses were to include radar jamming and deception , to ward off anti-aircraft missiles; protection of key electronics against nuclear electromagnetic pulse ; and an encrypted telecommunications system and videoconferencing . The only competitors for

3721-492: Was to buy two different aircraft—a "civilian" version, with a bathroom, executive suite, and galley , and a "military" version, with complete command and control capabilities. The AOA drew interest from more than two companies. These included Boeing, which told the press that either its CH-47 Chinook or its Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey could meet the requirements. Because the AOA contemplated a much longer process of design and production,

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