Military jet from Rapid City Air Force Base part of Super Bowl flyover

      The pregame ceremonies for Super Bowl 55 in Tampa Bay on Sunday included a fly-by featuring three U.S. Air Force bombers, including two from bases in the Dakotas. 

     A B-1 Lancer from Ellsworth Air Force Base near Rapid City joined a B-52 from Minot, ND, and a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. It was the first time all three types of bombers flew over before the game. 

       The flyovers don’t cost the taxpayers anything extra. They take the place of regular training flights. The bases found out in December they were picked for the Super Bowl flights and had been preparing ever since. 

        Major Michael Webster, instructor/weapons systems officer with the 37th Bomb Squadron at Ellsworth, calls it “an incredible honor” to be selected, while Captain Abraham Morland is “super excited” to be part of the B-1 crew making the flight.

         Morland says the hardest part is making sure they take off in time to make the scheduled rendezvous with the other planes. The B-2 led the formation over the stadium.