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This map provided by Beale Air Force Base shows the route of the T-38 flyover that's scheduled Saturday, May 9, 2020. (Courtesy photo)
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T-38 team from Beale AFB to salute Covid frontline responders in flyover.
FAIRFIELD — Capt. Parker “Betty” Dodds will lead the T-38 Demo Team in a Northern California flyover salute Saturday to those on the front lines of the the Covid-19 fight.
The four-plane group will take off from Beale Air Force Base near Wheatland. The route includes a loop through the Vacaville-Fairfield area at around 12:40 p.m.
The flyover is a show of support and a salute to Northern California health care workers, first responders and other essential personnel on the front lines of the fight against Covid-19,” Col. Andy “Spoo” Clark, commander of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, said in a statement announcing the flyover. “It is our way of saying ‘thank you for your service and sacrifice.’ ”
The Northrop T-38 Talon is a two-seat, twinjet supersonic trainer – the first supersonic trainer – and the most widely produced. The United States Air Force operates the most T-38s, but it is used by a number of nations around the globe.
The team will leave Beale and head over to the Yuba-Sutter counties area, then head southeast and cross Roseville around 12:30 p.m.
It then does a few loops through the Sacramento area before heading over to Solano County – starting south of Fairfield then jetting back north across Fairfield and Travis Air Force Base, then up to Vacaville before heading to Winters, Woodland and Knights Landing on its way to Oroville before looping back to Beale.
“My fellow airmen and I are honored to be able to show our support for our health care workers and first responders. We hope it brings some joy to them and the community during these uncertain times,” Dodds, a T-38 instructor pilot, said in the statement.
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