Super Bowl Flyover Pilot Trained at SAFB In Wichita Falls

Did you see the United States Air Force flyover at Sunday's Super Bowl? Did you know there was a little bit of Wichita Falls involved?

Captain Abraham Morland, pilot of the B-1B Lancer, learned to fly right here at Sheppard Air Force base in 2013.

According to Texoma's Homepage, Captain Morland was one of the three pilots involved in the Super Bowl LV flyover and flew the B-1B Lancer from Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota. All three of the aircraft involved, the B-1B, the B-52 Stratofortress, and the B-2 Spirit flew from different home bases, rendezvoused near Tampa, then flew in formation over Raymond James Stadium to kick off the 2021 game.

Morland has fond memories of his time in Wichita Falls. After all, it was here while taking pilot training at SAFB that he met the woman who would become his wife and together they still have family in the area.

Here in Wichita Falls we're accustomed to seeing the T-2 Texans and T-38s flying either solo or in formation, and we even get them to work with us for a flyover at the start of the Hotter'N Hell Hundred each August. As a part of that event I get to see a little bit of the coordination between what's happening on the ground and what's happening in the air, but few of us get to see what goes on behind the scenes in a flyover like this, especially when all three aircraft are coming from different bases. In this case the B-1B flew out of Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota, the B-52 flew out of Minot AFB in North Dakota, and the the B-2 Spirit, or 'Stealth' bomber flew out of Whiteman AFB in Missouri.

Airshow Stuff put that story together for us in video form.

Hats off to everyone who has ever put on a uniform in service to the United States of America, and thank you, United States Air Force, for another great flyover Sunday evening.

You can hear an interview with Captain Abraham Morland on Texoma's Hompage.

Who knew there was a little bit of Wichita Falls in the air at Super Bowl LV?