Fighter jet flyover salute will go through Stanislaus County but not involve it
Stanislaus County is in the flight plan for the California Air National Guard’s salute to health care and other front line workers around the state on Wednesday, but its fighter jets will not do the low altitude flyovers at hospitals here.
During its tour, four F-15C Eagle Fighter Jets, with the 144th Fighter Wing out of Fresno, will perform low altitude flyovers at locations in the San Joaquin Valley and Bay Area.
The jets will come as low as 1,000 feet over mostly hospitals but also police and fire stations, the Capitol and the California Office of Emergency Services. They will travel from Fresno, up the San Joaquin Valley and west to the Bay Area.
The flyovers are part of a nationwide salute by the Air Force for those on the front lines during the coronavirus pandemic.
The jets will fly through Stanislaus County, east of Modesto, but Chief Master Sgt. Chris Drudge said they are going to be at a “standard flying altitude” of about 25,000 feet.
“Modesto really won’t play into the picture at all unfortunately on its way to Sacramento,” he said.
Stanislaus County residents who catch a glimpse of the jets will see “four small dots” and their contrails.
“We would love to hit every city in California, but we can’t,” Drudge said. “We apologize for that. We realize there are front line superheroes in every city in California.”
He said he was not privy to how the flight plan was chosen other than that there were certain areas and landmarks the wing wanted to include like the Capitol and the hospitals in Fresno, where it is based.
The original flight plan included Southern California, but late Tuesday morning the wing learned that the Thunderbirds will be doing a flyover there next week.
“They are going to put on a phenomenal show for them down there,” Drudge said. “We were told to wave off.”
The nearest flyover locations for the 144th Fighter Wing’s fighter jets are in Merced to the south or Sacramento to the north.
The jets will fly over UC Merced Medical Facility and Mercy Medical Center Merced at about 10:16 a.m.
According to the California National Guard, residents in these areas will be able to see the flyover from the safety of their homes and should maintain all social distancing guidelines during this event.
The California National Guard asks that people not travel to landmarks or hospitals, or gather in large groups, to view the flyover.
This story was originally published May 12, 2020 at 2:05 PM.
