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Hurricane Hunter Research Plane Lands in Ft. Myers
Apr 8, 2008 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Diane Holm, Public Information Officer HURRICANE HUNTER RESEARCH PLANE LANDS IN FT. MYERS Fort Myers, FL-Did you ever wonder how that National Weather Service aircraft flies through hurricanes and collects the information you receive through the news media? The public can get that question answered and see first hand what the plane looks like inside and out when the P-3 Hurricane Hunter visits Fort Myers' Page Field next week. For the first time in a decade, the P-3 Hurricane Hunter Research Plane will stop in Fort Myers Friday, April 18, and be open for public tours at Page Field. The Lee County Office of Emergency Management scheduled the plane to open to the public from 10 to 11:30 a.m., and from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. "This is the plane that flies into hurricanes to tell us their strength, direction, barometric pressure and much more," said J.A. Stakenburg, Operations Chief at Lee County Emergency Management who coordinated the aircraft visit to Fort Myers. "It's a great opportunity for parents and students on spring break to see the scientific equipment on board and meet the people who work with it." Besides a guided tour of the plane, the public will hear a 30-minute hurricane briefing by a meteorological expert and be able to participate in a 30-minute expo-style open house with local experts including media personalities and personnel from the Lee County Emergency Operations Center, Page Field Airport Fire-Rescue, Lee County Sheriff's Office, American Red Cross, and the Salvation Army. There are several Hurricane Hunter aircraft, but this is the only plane dedicated solely to research, said Dan Noah of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The tours on the 18th will offer much more to the public than offered at the Charlotte County Air Show. When it arrives at Page Field members of the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) and NOAA, as well as Florida Emergency Management Chief Craig Fugate will be on-board and available to the public. The plane has been in service since 1971, and is rarely available for public viewing in its home hangar at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa.
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