2013 Red Sox opening day one of few that had flyovers, most flyovers grounded due to fed. budget cut backs

"Two P-51's flyover Fenway Park during opening ceremonies before a baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park in Boston Monday, April 8, 2013," ap

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4/1/13, "Sequester hits baseball Opening Day festivities," Washington Post, Josh Hicks

"Baseballs weren’t the only thing taking a hit Monday when America’s pastime restarted with Opening Day. The sequester robbed several teams of the military flyovers they had scheduled for their first home games.

The Air Force halted plans for a Monday flyover at Target Field in Minneapolis, where the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers kicked off the season, according to an NBC affiliate in the Twin Cities.

The Marine Corps called off a flyover for the San Diego Padres’ home opener on Saturday, and the Air Force canceled support for Saturday’s opening night for the Los Angeles Angels, according to Defense Department spokeswoman Jennifer Elzea.

The cuts that took effect March 1 require the Defense Department to trim $41 billion from its budget. The Pentagon decided to cease all air shows — including the flyovers that traditionally take place during service-academy graduation ceremonies — as part of its plan to absorb the cuts.

That means the Navy Blue Angels and the Air Force Thunderbirds will sit mostly idle for the remainder of the fiscal year, with the exception of limited training activities, according to Defense officials."...

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4/2/13, "Sequester Kills Opening Day Flyovers," Breitbart, Tony Lee

"Nearly every ball park on baseball's Opening Day did not get a traditional flyover after the playing of the national anthem on Monday.

There were no flyovers at Yankee Stadium and at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.

The Air Force and the Marine Corps canceled flyovers scheduled in Minnesota and San Diego, respectively. When the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim open in Anaheim this weekend, there will be no Blue Angels flyover, as had been scheduled before the sequestration cuts.

The Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, though, had a flyover before the Angels played the Reds in the city where Opening Day is a holiday."...
 

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