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Air Show chairman pleased with weekend turnout

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By Thomas Gnau, Staff Writer 11:34 PM Sunday, July 19, 2009

The Vectren Dayton Air Show closed its second and final day this year much as it did its first — under cloudy skies and with cool temperatures, but delivering the goods, in the air and on the ground.

“I thought it was fantastic,” said Lisa Bertke, of Troy, as she left the show at the Dayton International Airport Sunday afternoon, July 19.

Michael Emoff, chairman of the U.S. Air and Trade Show Board of Trustees, was pleased Sunday evening. Stressing that the show did not yet have official numbers, he estimated that attendance was the highest the show has seen since 2003, when the event marked the centennial of powered flight.

He noted that 2003 was a four-day event in which some 120,000 people attended. He also estimated that attendance this year bested the mark set two years ago, when 70,000 people went through the gates.

“It was really good,” Emoff said. “The show, generally speaking, was really well attended.”

Boosting attendance were moderate temperatures and an economy that likely kept people closer to home, he said.

Highlights included performances by the U.S. Air Force precision flying team, the Thunderbirds, stunt performances by fliers Patty Wagstaff and Sean Tucker, as well as a re-enactment of the 1941 attack on U.S. naval forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, replete with explosions on the ground. On the ground, dozens of “static” displays enticed anyone curious about aviation.

The weekend also featured a salute to a dozen Apollo program astronauts by the National Aviation Hall of Fame, and the hall’s welcoming of four new enshrinees.

Air show officials said no formal attendance numbers would be available before sometime today.

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