|
Hurricane Hunter Plane Arrives at Page Field
Apr 17, 2008 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Diane Holm, Public Information Officer (239) 335-1639 or cell 357-3540 HURRICANE HUNTER PLANE ARRIVES AT PAGE FIELD Fort Myers, FL-The once in a decade public visit by the National Weather Service's P-3 Hurricane Hunter research aircraft starts tomorrow, Friday, April 18, at Page Field. The public can climb into the plane to see its scientific instruments, cockpit and more from 10-11:30 a.m. and from 1:30-4:30 p.m. The Lee County Office of Emergency Management scheduled the plane to help students and the general public relate personally to the scientific process of determining vital hurricane information. "This plane 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 research equipment on board and meet the scientists 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.
|