The Dayton Air Show Brings Back Memories

Ohio's Dayton Air Show, this weekend, reminds me of my own childhood. My grandfather used to take me to air shows every summer. We never attended the Dayton Air Show, since we lived in rural Vermont at the time. Instead we went to local small local air shows. My grandfather was a paratrooper during World War II so it was a special privilege for me as a young boy to attend the air show with him. Although he passed away some time ago, events like the Dayton Air Show always remind me of him and the times we shared.

Old Time Air Shows

We'd arrive early and claim ample space next to the car in the grassy field reserved for parking. We'd set up lawn chairs, and break out a cooler filled with cold drinks. We'd watch the planes and sky divers and other aerial events from our comfortable seats. In between the scheduled events we'd go and tour the booths and grounds of the airport. Invariably, he would buy me a pinwheel which I would mount on my lawn chair in the parking lot, like an airplane propeller.

In rural New England in those days, air shows tend to be somewhat more akin to a county fair than they are to the Dayton Air Show. There were hot dog stands, cotton candy vendors, and of course a dunking tank. The dunking tank was one of my favorites. Though I was too young for little league at the time, I considered myself a future big league baseball player (or an astronaut). The dunk tank was my chance to demonstrate the power of my throwing arm by hurling my best fireball at the target. Of course, dropping someone into a tank of water was fun, too.

The Dayton Air Show is Loaded with Action

The Dayton Air Show is an air show of an entirely different scale. For starters, the Dayton Air Show is a two day event running Saturday and Sunday, July 19^th and 20^th. The Dayton Air Show gates open at 9:00 AM and both days are filled with action until the 6:00 PM closing time. With 19 featured performers, the Dayton Air Show is non-stop action. The action isn't just limited to the sky. Three jet engines have been mounted to a Peterbilt truck for an earth-shaking 36,000 HP of thrust. With a top speed of 300 miles per hour, the NeXplore Shockwave Jet Truck is sure to light things up.

That 300 miles per hour is not even in the same league as some of the other Dayton air show scheduled featured performers. Both the US Navy and the US Air Force will feature flights of combat planes that bring history to life as a mix of modern and retired aircraft take to the skies together. No fewer than four aerial acrobatics performances will thrill audiences at the Dayton Air Show. The unrivaled speed of the F104 Starfighters Jet Demonstration Team will appear for the first time at the Dayton Air Show.

Against the Dayton Air Show, the air shows I went to with my grandfather pale in comparison when comparing scheduled performers. I remember that we'd have a group of army rangers dropping headfirst down ropes from a hovering transport helicopter, a demonstration by a military demonstration team, usually the famous Blue Angels, and then we'd have a few sky diving demonstrations. Times have certainly changed. The grandeur of the Dayton Air Show is beyond anything I could have imagined back in Vermont more than 35 years ago.

For complete information: visit www.daytonairshow.com .