Rain in North Central Florida has dampened wildfire season
North Central Florida is into its annual wildfire season and so far, so good.
Most of the Florida peninsula from about Citrus County on the Gulf coast through southern Marion to Flagler on the Atlantic is either abnormally dry or in a drought.
Areas above that line, however, have had plenty of rain.
But with a month or so until the start of the typical summer weather pattern, the region is not out of the wildfire woods yet, said Ludie Bond, wildfire mitigation specialist with Florida Forest Service Waccasassa district headquartered in Gainesville.
According to Tex Sutton’s sales manager, Greg Otteson, the company flies in about 2,500 horses per year, spread over some 1,000 hours in the air.
Since 1969, Tex Sutton has provided first-class equine transportation and was the first company to provide horse charters.
Tex Sutton President Rob Clark said one of the places the Air Horse One usually flies is to the Ocala International Airport, and the Gainesville Regional Airport is not one of the airports normally on the schedule for the Air Horse One. However, earlier this month, Air Horse One made a last-minute flight to Gainesville, a result of the Ocala airport plan falling through on April 6.
Between April 8th and 12th, one of the several formation clinics which the North American Trainer Association (NATA) holds annually took place at Gainesville Regional Airport in Gainesville, Florida. The event saw roughly 65 pilots take part, flying some 40 training sorties with the thirty or so T-6s and three T-28s on hand. The D-Day veteran C-47 Skytrain Placid Lassie also took part as well.
A group of North American T-6s cut through the air in a left echelon formation. “The whole reason for getting together in these clinics is so that we can hone our skills, do it professionally and improve ourselves,” Larry Lumpkin, 67, said. (Photo courtesy of Larry Lumpkin) Home/Arts and Entertainment/Look To The Sky This Weekend In Gainesville As Vintage World War II Aircraft Fly Formations
Look To The Sky This Weekend In Gainesville As Vintage World War II Aircraft Fly Formations
By Trey Ecker
April 7, 2021
For many people, flying is a means of transportation to get from point A to point B while seated uncomfortably alongside strangers encroaching on their personal space.