By Charlie Patton jacksonville.com Copyright 2011 The Florida Times-Union. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
A flyover and flag were part of the ceremonies remembering the 2001 terrorist attacks at the Jaguars' Sept. 11, 2011, game.
As former “American Idol” contestant Phil Stacey finishes the national anthem Sunday, a team of six jets will fly over EverBank Field as the crowd roars, anticipating the kickoff of a game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Houston Texans.
The sight and sound of aircraft flying over the stadium in the moments before a Jaguars game has become a much-anticipated part of game day. So much so that some fans say that in recent years, as the Jaguars have struggled on the field, the flyover has become the best part of the experience.
“If the flyovers were discontinued, I would not be at the games,” Scott Flanders wrote in an email. “The fact is, without the flyover, Jaxson de Ville and a halftime show, the games today would be a bore.”
He was one of more than 100 readers of the Times-Union and Jacksonville.com who responded recently to a Times-Union question about flyovers. The responses were overwhelmingly in favor of as many flyovers at Jaguars games as possible.
A few people, though, complained that flyovers are a waste of taxpayer money.
And they join the debate that’s been percolating for a long time about the popular events. Those in the military say flyovers are used as part of training and no additional taxpayer funds are spent. Still, critics say that the planes fly over stadiums that can be many hundreds of miles from a unit’s base, and that takes costly fuel.
The Jaguars have featured flyovers, usually by military airplanes or helicopters, since they joined the National Football League. Kurt Weisenbaugh, the team’s manager of events and game day productions, said that when he was hired in 2006, the team generally tried to do flyovers at four or five home games a season.
He made it a priority to do as many as possible.
“It’s my favorite part of the job,” he said.
Arranging the flyovers requires a lot of Xs and Os, though. Weisenbaugh must apply to the Federal Aviation Administration and to the individual service branch well in advance. If the applications are approved, then it’s up to him to find a military unit willing to fulfill the mission. Just because an application is approved doesn’t mean the flyover is guaranteed.
While other NFL franchises have flyovers at their games, as do other sports such as NASCAR, “there are more at our place than I’ve seen anywhere,” said Dan Edwards, Jaguars vice president of communication and media.
The Navy, Air Force, Army and Marine Corps receive more than 850 requests each year for flyovers or parachute jumps at sporting events — including Little League opening ceremonies and minor league baseball games — most of which are deemed eligible for aerial support, the Orlando Sentinel discovered in a 2008 investigation.
In 2008, Wisenbaugh arranged for flyovers at every Jaguars home game. He hasn’t been as successful this year. The Marines, the only branch of the military that does nighttime flyovers, turned down requests for Jacksonville’s two Monday night games.
And while there will be a flyover at Sunday’s game, it won’t be by the military. Originally, two F-22s from the 43rd Fighter Squadron based at Tyndall Air Force Base in the Florida Panhandle had been scheduled as the flyover. But the Air Force canceled, and Wisenbaugh arranged instead for a flyover by the Black Diamond Jet Team, a six-plane civilian-owned jet team based in Lakeland.
Ironically, Sunday is Military Appreciation Day at EverBank Field and about 6,000 military personnel are expected to attend the game. But Wisenbaugh said in an email that “the Black Diamond Jet Team will still be great and it’ll be a different type of flyover. … Most importantly, it’ll still be done in tribute to our military.”
Among the reader responses the Times-Union received, most of the small group who favored discontinuing flyovers cited the expense.
“In my opinion, it is a waste of taxpayer dollars to have a military flyover for each and every football game,” wrote Ken Remson. “The privilege should be reserved for special occasions.”
Another emailer wanted flyovers eliminated entirely: “Flyovers should be stopped as they are expensive wastes of taxpayer money! Regardless of whether the military uses ‘training’ or ‘recruitment’ funds, ALL monies come from the Taxpayer. STOP this unnecessary expense!”
There’s no question that the use of military aircraft can be costly.
For the 2008 Super Bowl, the Navy’s Blue Angels flew over the University of Phoenix Stadium. A spokesman estimated the cost of sending the six F/A-18A Hornets from their base in El Centro, Calif., to Glendale, Ariz., and back at $36,000, the Sentinel reported. And the jets were unseen by anyone at the game because the stadium’s roof was closed.
Two weeks later, the Air Force’s Thunderbirds came from Nellis Air Force Base outside of Las Vegas to perform a fly-by before the Daytona 500 at an estimated cost of $80,000, the Sentinel reported.
Lt. Col. Richard Bittner, public affairs director for the Florida National Guard, whose 125th Fighter Wing, based at Jacksonville International Airport, did a flyover for Sept. 11’s opening game of the Jaguars’ regular season, said a ballpark estimate would be that each hour of flight time by each plane costs more than $6,000.
The 125th Fighter Wing generally does one flyover a year at Jaguars games, which serves several purposes, Bittner said: The flyover reminds people of the National Guard’s presence and serves as a recruiting tool. The Guard puts recruiters around the stadium and arranges for a high-ranking officer to deliver a video board message.
Bittner also said flyovers provide useful training for pilots who would be doing training flights of some kind on those weekends anyway.
“Trying to get over that target at the precise moment the National Anthem is ending is precision training,” he said.
Retired Navy Flight Officer Glen Tilley echoed that assessment.
“The training flights are going to take place whether the planes fly over the stadium or over Whitehouse Field,” Tilley wrote in an email. “Either way, the cost is the same. If the game day flyovers are discontinued, no monies will be saved — but much in the way of good will, patriotic pride and recruiting stands to be lost.”
“It was productive flight time and does relate to what would be a real-time mission,” wrote retired Air Force aviator Paul W. Ambs, who said he was involved in many flyovers during his career.
Still, not everybody appreciates the Jaguars efforts to make flyovers part of every game.
“In my opinion, flyovers used to be special, but we’ve worn them out,” wrote Arthur Kowitz. “Regardless of cost, I think we should save it for championship games and wait a moment until we have saluted our great country.”
But on this question, he appears to be outnumbered by people like Daniel M. Krawczyk.
“The men and women flying the aircraft at some point will deploy to combat, if they have not already,” Krawczyk wrote. “It gives citizens to a chance to salute them. I know every time I see one, I take off my cap, place over heart and salute them.
All requests for military flyovers start with filling out Defense Department Form 2535, the three-page “Request for Military Aerial Support.” And the form is very clear that requests will be considered “only for aviation-oriented events (i.e., air shows, airport anniversaries or dedication events), or for patriotic observances (one day only) held in conjunction with Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, POW/MIA Recognition Day, or Veterans Day.” Sporting events are never mentioned, although the instructions appear to leave open those possibilities because “flyovers, not to exceed four aircraft, may be performed by operational or training aircraft as determined by the providing Military Service.”
The form throughout the years has clearly specified that the Navy’s Blue Angels and the Air Force’s Thunderbirds do not perform flyovers. The Blue Angels performed a flyover before the 2008 Super Bowl, while the Thunderbirds flew over the Daytona 500 track that same year.
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