Flyover to occur June 27 across the state of Utah

The U.S. Air Force and Utah Air National Guard will perform a special flyover on June 27, across the state of Utah in celebration of the first air refueling maneuver, which was 100 years ago.

The flyover will take place across the state at specific times. For those wondering when the jets will fly over Southern Utah, here’s what you need to know:

The flyover will reach Cedar City Airport at 10:55 a.m. and will reach Utah Tech University in St. George at 11:04 a.m. before heading east toward Strawberry Reservoir.

Flyover Schedule for June 27, 2023

• 9:40 a.m. Utah State University
• 9:50 a.m. Lagoon
• 9:56 and 10:15 a.m. Utah State Capitol
• 10:03 a.m. BYU and UVU
• 10:55 a.m. Cedar City Airport
• 11:04 a.m. Utah Tech University
• 11:43-11:55 a.m. I-70/I-89 Corridor
• 12:02 p.m. Strawberry Reservoir
• 12:07 p.m. Heber City
• 12:09 p.m. Park City

What is an Air Refueling Maneuver?

To execute a flyover this suddenly must mean it’s to remember something important, right? Well on June 27, 1923, a new method of refueling an aircraft was established which takes place while the aircraft is still in the air.

Kind of sounds like something we would come up with today, but no, this has been a practice for a century. Crazy huh?

How does it work? The craft in need of fuel will fly behind a larger cargo-type aircraft with a hose dangling from it. The pilot then maneuvers the aircraft into the hose and has to maintain the exact speed as the fueling craft, while staying about 100 feet behind it.

This maneuver has allowed military pilots to make longer excursions without landing. Constant refueling can lead to much longer flights.

What’s the longest? In 1958 the record was set for the longest manned flight without landing at 65 days, 22 hours, 19 minutes, and five seconds. THAT’S OVER TWO MONTHS IN THE AIR!

So, in case you hear a large SWOOSH today, don’t worry, that’s just 100 years of history happening in the sky.

UPDATE:

The SWOOSH didn't happen over Southern Utah until much later but it was a sight to see. Locals grabbed photos and posted online. Local, Andrew Aguiniga shared a video and photo with Townsquare media.

This was taken at 11:52 a.m. from the Stephen Wade parking lot.