A KC-135 refueling aircraft flies over the Dale Mabry entrance of MacDill Air Force Base while coming in for a landing in 2021. Tampa residents should expect increased air traffic until March 8 while pilots participate in training at the base. (Luis Santana, Tampa Bay Times/TNS)
(Tribune News Service) — Residents in the Tampa Bay area may have noticed the skies around MacDill Air Force Base have been extra busy lately.
The added noise comes from a squad of F-35 pilots who are visiting from Eglin Air Force Base near Pensacola, said Terry Montrose, a spokesperson for the south Tampa base.
Montrose said the Panhandle pilots are here to drill at a bombing range in Avon Park, just outside Sebring.
During their stay in Tampa Bay, the pilots train together with MacDill pilots, Montrose said. They swap their F-35s for KC-135s at MacDill, giving pilots from both bases more exposure on different aircraft.
“It’s a good mutual effort,” he added.
Montrose says MacDill often hosts other Air Force pilots from bases in Canada or northern states during the winter months.
“MacDill is a prime base for other units come in to do training,” Montrose said. “Because it’s really cold up there, it’s hard to train this time of year.”
Most of the additional air traffic is expected during the middle of the day and the loud fighter planes won’t be a nuisance to nearby residents for much longer.
After two weeks in Tampa, the jets are expected to fly home to the Panhandle on March 8, Montrose said.
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