Super Bowl Flyover Could Have Cost Taxpayers $450,000

How much does it cost to fly five F-18s over a domed Super Bowl stadium?

Almost $450,000 according to WFAA Dallas/Fort Worth.

The estimate comes from research done on operational costs of the aircraft, including what it costs to transport the planes from Virginia Beach, VA to North Texas. The cost of fuel alone for the flyover totalled $109,000.

From WFAA:

According to Department of Defense tables, the entire cost will be more than $450,000, based on the operational cost of the F-18 aircraft and the number of hours the pilots will fly.

But there are benefits to this sort of exercise beyond creating a Super Bowl spectacle. In addition to pleasing viewers at home (the Dallas stadium itself is domed so no one inside was able to see it), the flyover actually has a training purpose

From MSNBC:

However, CNBC reports that Mike Maus, a public affairs officer with the Navy, said that the Navy only records the fuel cost for such trips, which was $109,000. Maus said the flyovers actually provide pilots with essential training needed for missions including instrumentation and communication practice.

"These missions are included in the annual operating budget of all branches of the military and they are used as training," Maus told CNBC. "There was no additional money provided to us, Congress did not cut us a special check to do this flyover. This is considered a training mission whether they were to fly over the Super Bowl or not."

Comments

[MyGuyO]

12:12 PM on 02/13/2011

This is where the GOP congress can cut funds.

[KIVPossum]

11:32 PM on 02/12/2011

They will get more recruits off that flyover than if they'd bought 5 minutes of airtime

[DanSc]

04:39 PM on 02/12/2011

I'm all for training flights, but a flyover of a domed stadium was a bit odd.

[farmilyman]

05:09 AM on 02/12/2011

I thought the US had budget problems.

[Sunshine69]

09:17 PM on 02/11/2011

The real question is whether the same money could be used for a more effective training exercise than flying over a stadium. It would be better to jettison the MIC breast beating for something that simulates a real mission they are likely to fly in defense of the country. These guys do not need to fly all the way from the east coast to keep their chops up ... they need to fly strafing and bombing runs on the ranges our tax dollars provide for such exerciese. If people want a real show of military power for a fraction of the cost, we could have a few drones sneak up on the crowd while being "piloted" by 19 year old video jockeys sitting in a cube in California.

[ocalasatpro]

06:17 PM on 02/12/2011

The REAL question is who should be tarred and feathered for this complete waste of money and a good followup would be who was the person who thought up the "training" excuse.

The Egyptian people definitely have the right idea.

[Sonoma]

05:51 PM on 02/11/2011

These planes need to be airborne on a regular basis as a function of their maintenance. They're not like rifles or big guns which can be packed and stored in grease, and broken out as need be. I'm a swords-into-plowshares guy, but this perennial story drives me nuts... get off my lawn!

[OregonCHG]

08:26 PM on 02/11/2011

Agreed, and not only that, go talk to any commander and he will tell you he struggles to get enough hours for his pilots. Hours that are required to maintain their battle readiness, this is just part and parcel of maintaining the force. Furthermore, these flybys are written as recruiting tools, it's the same reason many of these planes make appearances at your local airshow each summer. Now, how effective it was on a closed dome stadium remains an open question.

[joh ieom]

05:38 PM on 02/11/2011

We dont need healthcare, we need a bunch of planes to fly over a closed stadium (and for all the dogfights we get into with the afghans....)

[Ldiddy]

01:24 PM on 02/11/2011

I don't doubt that this is lumped into the required training hours that pilots must fly, but beyond patriotic symbolism, this also serves as a recruitment tool similar to the many air and water shows performed across the country every year.

[lisaman]

11:30 AM on 02/11/2011

Well, isn't that special!

[KDMac]

09:23 AM on 02/11/2011

Let the NFL pay for it, they have plenty of money.

[Derek Lantin]

05:37 AM on 02/11/2011

Sir

It is possible that your article distorts the facts.

Military pilots are required to fly a certain number of hours per month in order to keep their skills honed to the standard required to operate their planes at the highest level of competence.

It makes no difference in the cost to the taxpayers whether the pilots were flying their F18s in formation over the Super Bowl or over a deserted piece of the Atlantic Ocean.

Fortunately, the Air Force combined the exercise with a route that also gave enormous pleasure to many Super Bowl fans. Surely the military should be thanked, not criticized?

Sincerely, Derek Lantin. http://dereklantin.booksabuzz.com

[LanceLee]

06:57 PM on 02/11/2011

Watch it! If they are F/A-18's they are Navy, not Air Force. Which is a good thing, I wouldn't want Air Force pilots flying over a populated area.

[parlimentMike]

04:19 AM on 02/11/2011

A lot cheaper and more effective than a 30-second commercial.

[Michael Vargo]

03:06 AM on 02/11/2011

Actually the information that is here is not totally correct. I have done fly overs while in the Air Force. They are done in conjuction with other training flights like air refueling training sorties, ground support sorties, air to air sorties, cross country navigtion flights, etc. They are not just done for the fly over. They either are returning from a training sortie, or on their way to a training sortie and it is just one of the add ons. The only fly overs/demonstrations that are done for no other reason are those in conjuction with aerial demonstration teams such as the USAF Thunderbirds, US Navy Blue Angels, and the Knights of the US Army. The fact that they were F-18's means they could be on their way to a carrier before deployment, or going out to the gunnery range or just getting in some cross country time and this was just a stop/add on sortie along the way. The cost numbers mentioned in the article are typical of a media that is trying to make a story but does not have any of the facts because the military does not discuss active operations with the media.

[onlyaquarterdelusional]

09:38 AM on 02/12/2011

Thank you for the informative post. Without it, to the average joe, the fly overs appear to be an unnecessary waste of fuel, wear and tear on the aircraft and taxpayer sponsored gift to an already cash rich business. In this economy, when many are struggling, can you blame folks for complaining when they see what appears to be a waste of taxpayer dollars?

[Eva Munet]

12:23 AM on 02/11/2011

Didn't they fly over as Christina Aguilera mangled our national anthem? Just icing on a very wasteful cake.

[gomezrules]

11:32 PM on 02/10/2011

Umm, beyond the fuel costs, what other expenses are there? When planes do a fly over, they have a spotter on the ground (at the upper most parts of the flyover locale, to coordinate and time it). Are the pilots and associated staff being housed in the area of the flyover, or do they return to their base? The pilots are not paid by the hour, as the article suggests, they are paid a salary like all military members are. Even a benefit like 'flight pay' would not result in more than a few thousand dollars total for all the pilots combined, and that's usually based on reaching a goal (so many hours per month, etc.). The planes will receive their usual maintenance when their flights are over, whcih is standard procedure for ALL flights, of ALL military aircraft. So where are these numbers derived from? How does $109,000 become 'over' $450,000?

I'm wondering if the DoD 'tables' referenced in the link for the costs of flying military planes includes the cost of fuel, because an F-15 (one of the planes mentioned) holds up to 11, 520 lbs of fuel per Web sources, and per other ones (one of which is provided below), they burn about 1580 GALLONS of fuel per HOUR. The costs of $109,000 or thereabout for a flight of F-18s seems about right based on that.

http://askville.amazon.com/percent-Oil-cars-planes-military-trucks-electricity-production/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=14157202

But I'm all for the practice of flyovers (though why at a DOME is beyond me!). I'm a season ticket holder to an NFL team, and it is tremendous when they do a flyover over my team's stadium. It is training for the crews in that they need to get "x" number of flying hours each month to maintain their proficiency. They're good for morale, and they're good for recruiting! It's money well spent..

[Samson1]

03:58 PM on 02/11/2011

So, if you would like a flyover for your local high school game it should be no problem or cost, just a training exercise!

[Robearbeach]

07:39 PM on 02/11/2011

If the pilots need the hours and so the planes are going to fly anyway, why not?

[gomezrules]

05:29 PM on 02/13/2011

I've never been to a HS event that featured a flyover! What you don't seem to know or understand is that training flights are routinely scheduled for including the flyovers. They are precisely timed events which benefit the pilots involved when they pull it off. The cost for that flight of planes will still be the same regardless of whether a flyover took place or not!