Donald Trump in Augusta for The Masters?

Donald Trump in Augusta for The Masters?

There is slight speculation here, but I suppose that's not unique to this post. I'm a big fan of aviation. I'm a big fan of looking at the globe.adsbexchange map and seeing what's there. I'm a huge fan of golf. When these worlds collide, I geek out. This week is The Masters golf tournament in Augusta, GA - one of golf's four yearly major tournaments. People fly in from all over the world for it.

Aircraft in and around the Augusta, GA area on 4/8/22

I was periodically looking at the map this afternoon between meetings. I saw a helicopter nearing Augusta, GA and thought it was strange. Most of the aircraft comings and goings are business jets. Some context here, there are two airports in Augusta - Daniel Field and Augusta Regional. Most aircraft use Augusta Regional (AGS). Very few that I've seen land at Daniel.

The helicopter I was looking at was landing at Daniel. I scoped it out and while I did have data for it available in the RadarAtlas chrome extension, it was not something that I typically follow because I hadn't seen it before. My heart immediately started pumping when I realized that the DT in the N120DT callsign was who I thought it may be. Clicking the red/blue text on the left side of the page, as a reminder, will show you who owns the aircraft (assuming I have that data). I looked in the FAA database and this aircraft is registered to DJT Aerospace at 725 Fifth Ave, New York, New York. Trump Tower.

This is not a political post. You won't find anything political on this blog, ever. I am a fan of aviation. I will track Air Force One regardless of who's on board. I see a helicopter landing in Augusta during my favorite golf tournament of the year and figure out that it's registered to Donald Trump? I get excited. I can't confirm who was on board or not. I don't know those details. I can confirm, though, that the helicopter made its way down from the northeast USA on 3/21/22 and has been in the southeast since then. It has made somewhat regular flights between Atlanta and Augusta in recent days/weeks. In the past 24 hours it has flown between Knoxville, TN -> Lawrenceville, GA -> Augusta, GA.

The aircraft itself has an ICAO of a0540f. It appears that the helicopter was registered in October, 2021.


9/27/22 UPDATE: At the time of writing the original content above, the helicopter N120DT was being chartered/leased by a construction company in the Atlanta area. As of the date of this update, the aircraft is no longer registered/owned by DJT Aerospace.