Piloting presidents

Imagine receiving an invitation for your family to take part in the Easter Egg Roll in the Rose Garden at the White House, and on another occasion, carrying on a 45-minute conversation with then President Bill Clinton and three former Presidents – H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter.

Greg Cayon, 45, did just that during his tenure as a pilot on Air Force One, the presidential aircraft. He served as aircraft commander and pilot instructor.

It was in 1997 that Sheboygan resident Cayon, then a captain in the U.S. Air Force, and currently the Kohler Company’s director of aviation and business travel, was selected as the 21st pilot to fly the legendary, specially configured Boeing 747, known as Air Force One.

From 1997 through 2000 and from 2004 through 06, seven of his 25 years in the U.S. Air Force, Cayon flew Presidents Clinton and Bush, along with many other government officials, dignitaries and some celebrities – among them, singer Sheryl Crow and actor Kevin Spacey – on Air Force One and the smaller Gulfstream III planes.

The three-level Air Force One differs from commercial 747s in that it seats 65 passengers, rather than the standard 400. It is also equipped with more sophisticated communication capabilities and can be airrefueled.

In addition, “The president has his own suite in front of the plane on the main level,” Cayon said. “The most forward room has two sofas that can be pulled out and made into beds.

The flight crew – pilots, engineers and navigators – also have four bunks in the top level for resting on long flights. The middle level is for passengers and the bottom level for baggage and storage.

“President Carter used to bring a sleeping bag and slept on the floor of one of the smaller passenger rooms, when he flew with us as an ex-president,” Cayon noted.

He added, “President Carter is one of my favorite people. He is a genuinely nice person.

“I recall on a departure from Jordan, I was sitting in the jump seat, and I was tapping my pencil. President Carter touched my shoulder and said, ‘You’re not used to waiting. Are you?’”

Cayon explained the seating arrangement on Air Force One. Passengers in one section of Air Force One include: the president and his Whitehouse staff, some Secret Service agents, about 20 guests of the president, congressmen, state department representatives and the press corps. Another section includes maintenance personnel and security representatives, to guard the plane while it is on the ground.

Three Air Force One pilots, out of the eight total pilots, man Air Force One for international flights, while there are two on domestic flights.

Cayon’s fascination for flying began at a young age. A native of the Boston suburb of Winthrop, he would observe the 747s circling above his home, on approach to Logan International Airport in Boston.

“I’d look up and think, I’d like to fly those planes some day,” he recalled.

Yet, he never dreamed he would have the honor of transporting the nation’s finest in his future. Cayon said he is reminded of this privilege daily, as he reflects upon those years.

He still receives calls from Air Force One personnel, with technical questions, regarding the communications modifications he implemented on the aircraft, in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Those upgrades included the installation of live TV, Internet capability and equipment for carrying on live teleconferences between Air Force One government officials and staff on the ground.

Lt. Col. Cayon retired from the Air Force on Nov. 30, 2006, and two days later, he joined the Kohler Co. He oversees the flight department and oversees the company’s travel agency. He also flies about 150 hours annually in the company aircraft.

Occasionally, he makes presentations to local organizations about his years as an Air Force One pilot. Upon earning a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering mechanics at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs in 1986, Cayon was commissioned a 2nd Lt. He completed undergraduate flight training in 1987 and was assigned to fly the Lockheed C-141 cargo aircraft out of McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey.

While flying the C-141 from 1987-93, he participated in Operations Just Cause (Panama invasion), Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Restore Hope (Somalia) and other Department of Defense combat efforts.

During this time frame, “I flew military transport planes carrying nuclear weapons,” Cayon recalled. “I also made classified trips for other government agencies, which gave me a high security clearance.”

In 1993, Cayon was selected to fly the Gulfstream III at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. “The president also flies on the Gulfstream IIIs, in addition to Air Force One,” Cayon noted.

There are two identical Air Force One planes – one of which is always nearby as a maintenance backup. As a Gulfstream III pilot, Cayon transported government officials and dignitaries around the world. To date, he has transited all 50 U.S. states and 135 countries.

“There are only about 18 countries I haven’t visited,” he said. “My two favorite places are Mauritius, an island off of Africa, and Queenstown, New Zealand.

There is a major requirement in being selected to pilot Air Force One.

“Because my security clearance was very high, in 1997 the Air Force One commander asked if I was interested in being the 21st pilot to fly the plane,” Cayon said. “That was quite an honor. I accepted, then went to Denver for one month to train at United Airlines for flying the 747.”

Having completed his training, Cayon began transporting President Clinton and flew Hillary Clinton on the Gulfstream III, while she was running for the senate.

“President Clinton was fun to fly with,” Cayon recalled. “We had lots of conversations. He picks up on everything and remembers what you tell him.”

Cayon recounted the 1997 episode of his first international flight with President Clinton. Cayon’s father the late Arthur Cayon was of Spanish descent. In a conversation with Clinton, Cayon informed him that his father had just passed away.

Then, as Cayon was transporting the president to Madrid to attend a NATO conference, Clinton brought Spain’s King Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia to the upper level of the plane to meet Cayon.

“President Clinton really surprised me,” Cayon said.

On another occasion in 1999, Cayon was en route to Jordan for the funeral of King Hussein. Clinton brought the three above-mentioned former presidents to visit with Cayon and the other pilot in the cockpit of Air Force One.

“President [H.W.] Bush asked me which college I had attended,” Cayon said. “I told him, you handed me my diploma.’

“President Bush was vice president when I graduated from the Air Force Academy,” Cayon said.

Cayon also experienced a threat during his Air Force One tenure. “We were leaving Athens, Greece, while Clinton was president,” he said. “A voice came on the radio saying there was a bomb on the aircraft and that it was set to detonate. The voice was counting down the minutes.

“I leveled off the plane, because some bombs are triggered by altitude,” he explained. “We moved all passengers up to the front and the carryons to the back, as we did not have enough time to land.

“The voice then counted down the last 10 seconds, but fortunately the bomb scare was a false alarm.”

Cayon took a hiatus from his position with Air Force One in 2000 to spend time with his two young sons and to care for his wife who was later diagnosed with cancer.

“The agreement when I left was that the Air Force would hold an Air Force One pilot position open while I was gone,” Cayon said.

He was sent to Alabama. In 2001, he furthered his education, earning two degrees – a Master’s degree in airpower studies from Air University, Montgomery, Ala. and a Master’s of Business Administration degree from City University, Bellevue, Wash.

During his leave of absence from Air Force One, his wife died of cancer. At that time, he held a military staff position near St. Louis, Mo., being responsible for acquisition of VIP planes for the Air Force and in charge of modifications for the VIP fleet, including Air Force One.

After retiring from the Air Force, he had a variety of employment opportunities available.

“I interviewed with Kohler and liked the fact it is a private company and family-oriented,” Cayon said.

“When I came from Washington, D.C. to be interviewed, I fell in love with the Sheboygan County area. My chief concern in finding a home was the right type of environment for my kids.”

Cayon and his current wife Paige purchased a home in Sheboygan, where they reside with two of their children – Zachary, 13, and Logan, 11.