Gainesville Regional Airport (GNV) and University Air Center (UAC) are hosting their annual Gator Fly-In and Armed Services Appreciation Day Saturday, March 19, 2022, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the University Air Center, 4701 NE 40th Terrace in Gainesville, Florida (general aviation entrance off Waldo Road.) (The event was postponed in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.)
A fly-in is a gathering for pilots who arrive by air. Known as “the official kickoff to the aviation event season,” the Gator Fly-In and Armed Services Appreciation Day is open to the public, honors all branches of the military, and includes static and military aircraft displays, classic cars, children’s activities, live music, vendors, food trucks, pilot seminars and Beechcraft T-34, helicopter and airplane rides (for a fee.) Admission and parking are free, and a shuttle bus will operate between parking areas.
“Our annual Gator Fly-In and Armed Services Appreciation Day is our way of honoring all branches of the military, including some great Gator dignitaries, military and civil aviators who will be flying in many different types of aircraft to the UAC for the event,” says Allan Penksa, CEO, Gainesville Regional Airport. “It’s an exciting day for our community — especially anyone who is curious about flight — to learn more about aviation. After two years of Covid-related postponements, we look forward to finally honoring our dear friend Marine Corporal Bob Gasche with a fitting and poignant ‘Flown West’ ceremony with a squadron of beautiful T-34 Mentors. We always look forward to sharing this very special celebration at our airport with the community.”
Celebrating our Military and Distinguished Gator Alumni
The event begins at 10 a.m., with gates opening to the public, and all participating aircraft in place. Opening ceremonies begin promptly at 11 a.m., with a color guard and drill team from the University of Florida (UF) ROTC program, followed by the national anthem, performed by popular duo Gosia and Ali. At 11:15 a.m. a T34 “Flown West” ceremony honoring the late Marine Cpl Bob Gasche, WWII Vet, Iwo Jima and Purple Heart Veteran, will take place. In addition, invited dignitaries will make speeches. (Invited guests include Col. Joe W. Kittinger, Colonel, USAF [Retired]; renowned American Aviator and U.S. National Aerobatic Champion Patty Wagstaff; Richard G. McSpadden Jr., Senior Vice President, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) Air Safety Institute, and Captain John “Lites” Leenhouts, Distinguished Navy Veteran and CEO, Sun ‘n Fun.) Veterans groups from the North Central Florida region have been invited to participate.
Best Aircraft Contest and People’s Choice Awards
A “Best Civilian Aircraft” and “People’s Choice: Best Aircraft” contest will be held, allowing event attendees to vote for their favorite aircraft at the Gator Fly-In. The winners will be announced by contest judge, Col. Joe Kittinger, who will present the two winners with an award at 1 p.m.
Live Music, Classic Cars, Kids’ Activities and All-Day Food Trucks
Activities include static aircraft and classic car displays, military trucks, a kid’s corner with face painting, toy airplanes and coloring, arts and crafts vendors, and food trucks. Live Music by The Treetop Flyers will take place throughout the event. Breakfast items will be available for purchase from Chick Fil-A from 8 – 11. Confirmed food vendors at the event include Twisted Tikka, Dawg House, Cheffrey’s Food Trailer, So Yummy BBQ and Tropical Snow.
Aircraft Rides for purchase – Beech T-34 Mentor, Robinson 44 Helicopter and Cessna 172; “Swamp Tours”
For a fee, attendees can purchase rides in three different aircraft.
Commemorative Air Force, Dixie Wing will provide Beech T-34 Mentor flights for purchase. A two-seat pilot trainer, the T-34 Mentor was developed in 1948 from the Beechcraft 35 Bonanza and was the west’s most successful postwar basic trainer. Interested parties may purchase T-34 rides in advance of the event at https://airbasegeorgia.org/warbird-rides/ or walk-up tickets can be purchased at the UAC booth in the Mustang Hangar ($250 for 20 minutes; $320 for 40 minutes; $380 for 60 minutes.) Walk-up tickets can also be purchased at the event.
In addition, UAC is offering “Swamp Tours” lasting about 15 minutes, in which passengers can fly over the UF Football Stadium in a Cessna 172 ($50) or a Robinson R-44 helicopter ($50).
Pilot Seminars
Four separate pilot seminars will be held at the event. Michael Hare, UAC Flight Instructor; Former Director, National Security Emergency Preparedness (USAF) and former Delta Pilot will give a one-hour FAA Safety Seminar at 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. Jamie Beckett, AOPA Ambassador and Pilot Safety Expert will offer two pilot seminars at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. All seminars will be offered at the UAC Conference Room.
A wide variety of general aviation, corporate, aerobatic, glider and homebuilt aircraft are expected at the Gator Fly-In.
All branches of the military have been invited to fly in and participate in the event’s static display. Confirmed military aircraft include P-3 Orion, T-6 Texan and CH-47 Chinook, and participants from training wings TW4, TW5, and VT2. We also expect aircraft manufacturers, privately owned aircraft and law enforcement aircraft to be on display. All aircraft are subject to change due to weather, mechanicals and availability.
A schedule for the day follows:
- 7 a.m. Vendors arrive for set up
- 9 am – aircraft arrive and park; all aircraft parked by 9:45 am; FAA Safety Seminar #1 with Michael Hare
- 10 am – Public Arrive; helicopter and airplane rides begin; Pilot Seminar #1 with Jamie Beckett
- 11 am Opening Ceremony
- 11:15 am Flown West Ceremony for Marine Cpl Bob Gasche
- 11:20 Speakers begin
- 12 noon Live Music, food trucks; FAA Safety Seminar #2 with Michael Hare
- 1 pm People’s choice and Best of Show Airplane Contest Announced
- 2 pm Pilot Seminar #2 with Jamie Beckett
- 3 pm Final thank you and prep for departures
2022 Gator Fly-In Dignitaries/Honorees:
Marine Corporal Bob Gasche (Honoree of this year’s Gator Fly-In) enlisted in the Marine Corps in March 1943. At age 21 Private Gasche received combat orders for the assault on Iwo Jima. The eight square-mile island, dominated by its 504-foot volcano named Surbachi, was home to 36 days of death and destruction. There, Private Gasche was wounded and eventually taken to a hospital ship, where he underwent surgery to remove the shrapnel from his abdomen. As he was being evacuated to Hawaii, the plane carrying him and other injured men was forced down onto a small island after losing two of its four engines. Marine Corporal Gasche spent another year in combat in Korea. Fifty-two years after he was ferried off the island of Iwo Jima, he got another surprise. The Purple Heart Medal he’d earned in the battle, but never received, arrived in the mail at his home in Gainesville. Prior to his death in 2019, Mr. Gasche was involved in the many veterans’ organizations in the North Central Florida area, most notably the Iwo Trio.
Col. Joseph W. Kittinger II (USAF, Ret.), a UF alumnus, made history in 1960 as he ascended to 102,800 feet in a high-altitude balloon and jumped to Earth, setting four world records. During a distinguished USAF career, Joe served as a test pilot, Squadron Commander, and Vice Wing Commander. In a voluntary tour, Col. Kittinger led the noted 555th (Triple Nickel) Tactical Fighter Squadron in Vietnam and was shot down in combat in his F-4D Phantom II, the last of 453 combat missions. He spent 11 months as a POW in Vietnam before returning home. He retired as a Colonel and subsequently set two world ballooning records and won numerous ballooning competitions.
Joe is a National Aeronautics Association Elder Statesman of Aviation; was awarded a Lifetime Achievement in Aviation trophy from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum; was made an Honorary U.S. Army Golden Knight; and is enshrined in the National Aviation Hall of Fame, the U.S. Ballooning Hall of Fame and the National Skydiving Museum Hall of Fame. His was most recently named a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and inducted into The Living Legends of Aviation. To date, Joe has logged more than 16,800 hours of flying time in over 93 aircraft. His adventures are detailed in his autobiography, Come Up and Get Me. He will be selling autographed copies of his book at the event.
Patty Wagstaff is a three-time U.S. National Aerobatic Champion, six-time member of the U.S. Aerobatic Team and inductee of the National Aviation Hall of Fame. She has flown many airplanes including jets and warbirds and has type ratings in the L39 Jet, TBM Avenger, T-28 and an LOA in the BD5-J Jet and has flown airshows in the Super Decathlon, Pitts series, Extras, T-28, T-6 and P51D Mustang and is a commercial helicopter pilot. In addition to performing in airshows across North America each season, she operates Patty Wagstaff Aviation Safety LLC and the Patty Wagstaff Aerobatic School is headquartered in St. Augustine, Florida. Patty has been a CFII since 1983 and has been the Chief Instructor for the Kenya Wildlife Service Air Wing since 2001. Patty also writes for Plane & Pilot magazine for a monthly column called “Let it Roll.”
Captain John “Lites” Leenhouts, CEO and President of SUN ‘n FUN Fly-In International and The Aerospace Center for Excellence located in Lakeland, Fla., is a 27-year veteran of the United States Navy with a distinguished record of service as a carrier fighter pilot. Lites’ passion for aviation has spanned over nearly five decades, from hitch hiking to his first airshow as a young kid to retiring from the United States Navy in 2001 as the Commodore of the Strike Fighter Wing Atlantic, serving in both Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Lites holds the distinction of being the most experienced US Naval aviator of all time having successfully completed 10 major deployments and achieved 1,645 arrested carrier landings.
Richard McSpadden was appointed executive director of the AOPA Air Safety Institute in February 2017 and was promoted to senior vice president in July 2020. He currently leads a team of certified flight instructors and content creators who develop and distribute aviation safety material –free of charge— in order to advance general aviation safety industrywide. A native of Panama City, Florida, McSpadden started flying as a teenager and has logged over 5,000 hours flying a variety of civilian and military aircraft. McSpadden is a commercial pilot, CFII, MEI with SES, MES ratings and a 525S (Citation Jet Single Pilot) type rating. He taught his son to fly, instructed his daughter to solo in their Piper Super Cub, previously owned a 1950 Navion that was in his family for almost 40 years, and currently owns a 1993 Piper Super Cub. McSpadden holds a degree in Economics from the University of Georgia, and a Master of Public Administration from Troy University. He is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Air War College. Prior to joining AOPA, McSpadden had a successful career in the information technology industry, leading large, geographically dispersed operations providing business-critical IT services. McSpadden also served in the Air Force for 20 years, including the prestigious role of commander and flight leader of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds flight demonstration team where he led over 100 flight demonstrations flying the lead aircraft.
