Sussex County Air Force Salute to honor healthcare heroes in Sussex County

The Sussex County Air Force Salute is now tentatively scheduled for Saturday, May 23, depending on weather conditions.

Morning thunderstorms will cause a GO/NO GO decision that will take place Saturday morning at 9 a.m., at which time organizers will decide whether or not to hold the event as scheduled or postpone it to either Sunday or Monday at the same time.

The past fly-overs by the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels have been tremendous morale boosters for those who witnessed them. But, unfortunately, those teams are not scheduled to fly over Sussex County.

To remedy that shortfall, WGMD’s Program Director and Operations Manager Walt Palmer reached out to the owner of the B-25 Mitchell bomber “Panchito” and planned a locally produced fly-over for Sussex County starting at 11 a.m., Saturday, May 23, 2020.

The flights will include fly-overs of Beebe, Bayhealth, and Nanticoke hospitals. Paths will also take the aircraft up and down Routes 113 and Route 13 to increase visibility for residents across Sussex County, Delaware.

Kicking off the flyover at 11 a.m. will be the B-25, P-51 and C-45 covering the entire route in one flight.

Two flights of two L-Birds will then follow – the first flight will be the L-19 and Tiger Moth doing the east route and the L-16 and Chipmunk will do the west route. Their departure will be 11:05 – 11:10 a.m. on Saturday.

After the first L-birds flight is complete, they will return to the airport, refuel as necessary, change out passengers, takeoff, and do the opposite route. The L-16 and Chipmunk will do the east route and the L-19 and Tiger Moth will do the west route. The estimated arrival time for the for the third flight to depart is 1 p.m.

The list of facilities that make up the route in order:

• Greenwood FD
• Woodbridge HS
• Bridgeville FD
• Seaford HS
• Nanticoke Memorial Hospital
• Laurel HS
• Delmar HS
• Beebe Medical Center, Millville
• Indian River HS
• Selbyville FD
• Fenwick Lighthouse
• Beebe Medical Center, Millville
• Dewey Beach
• Beebe, John J Williams Highway
• Cape Henlopen HS
• Beebe Hospital, Lewes
• Fort Miles
• Beebe Clinic, Milton
• Milton FD
• Bayhealth Hospital Center
• Milford HS
• Milford Memorial Hospital
• Ellendale FD
• Beebe Clinic, Georgetown
• Sussex Tech HS
• Sussex Central HS