{"id":3029,"date":"2024-02-09T12:46:32","date_gmt":"2024-02-09T17:46:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gra-gnv.com\/flygainesville.com\/?page_id=3029"},"modified":"2026-02-23T16:11:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T21:11:25","slug":"gator-fly-in-and-armed-services-appreciation-day","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/gra-gnv.com\/flygainesville.com\/administration\/gator-fly-in-and-armed-services-appreciation-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Gator Fly-In and Armed Services Appreciation Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gainesville Regional Airport (GNV) and its FBO, the University Air Center (UAC) will once again host the Gator Fly-In and Armed Services Appreciation Day Saturday, March 28, 2026.<\/p>\n

A fly-in is a gathering for pilots who arrive by air and display their aircraft for the public to enjoy. The event takes place from 10 a.m. \u2013 3 p.m. at University Air Center, 4701 NE 40th Terrace, Gainesville, Fla. (Enter at General Aviation Entrance, Waldo Road) and is open to the public. Admission and parking are free, and a complimentary shuttle will be provided.<\/p>\n

Celebrating our Military Gator Aviators<\/strong><\/p>\n

Planned events include opening ceremonies with a color guard and flyovers, most notably a T-34 \u201cFlown West\u201d ceremony honoring our fallen military. This year\u2019s event will also be a celebration of participating University of Florida Alumni Gator Aviators in the military. Those individuals will be encouraged to participate in an ongoing \u201copen mic\u201d Fireside Chat throughout the event where they can share their memories of attending UF, their decision to join the military, and how they currently serve our nation.<\/p>\n

Static Display:<\/strong><\/p>\n

All branches of the military have been invited to fly in and participate in the event\u2019s static display. A wide variety of aircraft are expected, and potential fly-in aircraft include Lockheed C-130 Hercules; Sikorsky HH-60 Pave Hawk; T6-B Texan II; F\/A-18 Super Hornet; McDonnell Douglas T-45 Goshawk; Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II; Lockheed P-3 Orion; Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion and more. We also expect aircraft manufacturers, privately owned aircraft and law enforcement aircraft, including a ShandsCair helicopter (the critical care transport system of UF Health Shands Hospital) to be on display.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Best Aircraft Contest and People\u2019s Choice Awards <\/strong><\/p>\n

A \u201cBest Civilian Aircraft\u201d and \u201cPeople\u2019s Choice: Best Aircraft\u201d contest will be held, allowing event attendees to vote for their favorite aircraft at the Gator Fly-In.<\/p>\n

Live Music, Classic Cars, Kids\u2019 Activities and All-Day Food Trucks <\/strong><\/p>\n

Activities include static aircraft, military trucks, a kid\u2019s 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, and Food Trucks will operate throughout the event.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Aircraft Rides for purchase \u2013Beech T-34 Mentor, Robinson 44 Helicopter and Cessna 172; \u201cSwamp Tours\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n

For a fee, attendees can purchase rides in four different aircraft featuring \u201cSwamp Tours\u201d over the University of Florida football stadium, aka \u201cThe Swamp.\u201d In addition, the Confederate Air Force T-34 Mentor military trainer will be offering airplane rides for purchase. Walk-up tickets can be purchased at the UAC booth at the event.<\/p>\n

A schedule for the day follows:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. 9 am \u2013 aircraft arrive and park; all aircraft parked by 9:30 am<\/li>\n
  2. 10 am \u2013 Public Arrive; helicopter and airplane rides begin<\/li>\n
  3. 11 am \u2013 Opening Ceremony with University of Florida\u00a0Billy Mitchell Drill Team and Buchholz High School Color Guard<\/li>\n
  4. 11:15 am \u2013 Flown West Ceremony<\/li>\n
  5. 11:20 am \u2013 Speakers begin \u2013 \u201cOpen Mic\u201d for participating Military Gator Aviators (UF Alumni)<\/li>\n
  6. 12 noon \u2013 Live Music, food trucks<\/li>\n
  7. 2 pm \u2013 People\u2019s choice and Best of Show Airplane Contest Announced<\/li>\n
  8. 3 pm \u2013 Final thank you and prep for departures<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Please tell your flying friends and anyone who would rather be \u201cflying in.\u201d For more information on the Gator Fly-In and Armed Services Appreciation Day, please contact \u00a0paml@universityaircenter.com\u00a0<\/a>or phone (352) 416-0787, visit the Gator Fly-In Facebook page<\/a> or https:\/\/www.flygainesville.com<\/a><\/p>\n

    A QR Code follows:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2409,"parent":78,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3029","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nGator Fly-In and Armed Services Appreciation Day - Gainesville Regional Airport<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gra-gnv.com\/flygainesville.com\/administration\/gator-fly-in-and-armed-services-appreciation-day\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gator Fly-In and Armed Services Appreciation Day - Gainesville Regional Airport\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/gra-gnv.com\/flygainesville.com\/administration\/gator-fly-in-and-armed-services-appreciation-day\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gainesville Regional Airport\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-23T21:11:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/gra-gnv.com\/flygainesville.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Fly-in-2-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"880\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gra-gnv.com\\\/flygainesville.com\\\/administration\\\/gator-fly-in-and-armed-services-appreciation-day\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gra-gnv.com\\\/flygainesville.com\\\/administration\\\/gator-fly-in-and-armed-services-appreciation-day\\\/\",\"name\":\"Gator Fly-In and Armed Services Appreciation Day - 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