DaytonDailyNews.com

Dayton Air Show

Fun cleared for takeoff as thrill seekers turn to skies

Organizers are glad that many came to Dayton International Airport to see the show.

Rebecca Spatrisano of Lansing, Mich., is a diehard Blue Angels fan who came to Dayton to see them, but she found something that upstaged the Navy jet team at this year's Vectren Dayton Air Show.

"The helicopter ride was it for me," she said at the end of Saturday's show at Dayton International Airport.

Earlier in the day, she had paid for a seven-minute ride over the airport in a Vietnam War-vintage UH-1 "Huey" helicopter flown by the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation.

"The Blue Angels are second," she said.

Spatrisano was part of a crowd that pleasantly surprised air show organizers with its size.

Terry Grevious, executive director of Grevious and Associates, the show's management team, said he didn't have an attendance estimate Saturday afternoon but added, "From what I've seen it was a very good crowd."

Weather was a big help. After several days of thunderstorms, the show enjoyed mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-80s.

"The weather was a big help," he said.

So was an army of about 1,000 volunteers whose duties ranged from parking aircraft to collecting trash.

Michael Emoff, chairman of the board of trustees for United States Air and Trade Show Inc., singled out their efforts in the show's opening ceremonies. "Without the volunteers, this show couldn't happen," he said.

All scheduled acts flew during Saturday's show.

Today's event should be a repeat except for a flame-belching, rocket-boosted takeoff demonstration by the Blue Angels' C-130 support plane, Fat Albert.

Because its supply of rockets is dwindling, the Navy has limited the demonstration to once per air show.

Today's weather should be as sunny as Saturday's, but hotter: the National Weather Service Saturday evening was forecasting a high of 91 for today.

Today's flying schedule

9 a.m.: Gates open

11 a.m.: Buckeye Aero Squadron Modelers

12:30 p.m.: Opening ceremonies

12:30-2 p.m.: Misty Blues, Sky Soldiers, US Reserve Jet Car, USAF F-16 demo/P-38 Heritage Flight

2-3:30 p.m.: Tora! Tora! Tora!, Matt Chapman, US Reserve Jet Car/Matt Chapman Race, USMC Harrier demo

3:30-4:30 p.m.: C-130 Fat Albert, US Navy Blue Angels flight demonstration

6 p.m.: Gates close

How to go

Where: Dayton International Airport

off North Dixie Drive

When: Today

Tickets: Adults $19 at the gate. Discounts are

available for seniors and children