For the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, there will be two flyovers during pre-race activities with both having a special similar theme.
The first flyover will be historical World War II-era military planes. The second flyover will be state of the art F-18E Superhornets piloted by the U.S.Navy.
“The 30 minutes before the green flag drops are always my favorite time of the year,” said J. Douglas Boles, President of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “This year’s flyovers will be thrilling, and represent the perfect blend of the past and present we’re celebrating at the 100th Running of the Indy 500.”
For the first flyover it will include two planes that saw action during critical World War II missions – a Douglas SBD-5 and a P-51 Mustang. This will be done in collaboration with the Commemorative Air Force, which is an organization that was founded to acquire, restore and preserve a complete collection of combat aircraft in flying conditions which were flow by all military services of the United States.
The SDB was considered the most destructive air weapon of the U.S. Navy. In the skies over Pearl Harbor, it was the first American combat aircraft to shoot down a Japanese Zero fighter. It was the only U.S. Combat aircraft to fight from the beginning of World War II until the end.
The P-51 Mustang was first commissioned in 1940 and has a top speed of 437 mph. It is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and was used during World War II and the Korean War.
The second flyover will be a single-pass of the F-18E in a four plane formation at 300-350 mph. The F-18E is a single seat variant that deploys on air craft carriers to provide precision air to ground support along with protecting carriers from airborne threats. The top speed of the Navy pilots flying these is approximately Mach 1.8.
The flyovers will be carried out by squadrons VFA-81 and VAQ-139 that just wrapped up a 10-month deployment in the Persian Golf assisting the fight against ISIS. VFA-81 is based out of the Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Virginia, VAQ-139 is based in the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island from Washington State.
The 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 will be Sunday May 29th.