The Dayton Airshow
By Mike Heilman and Joe Gust The Dayton Airshow recently has seen a decline in attendance due to the government budget and weather issues. The United States Military has been limited with the amount of static aircraft that could be sent to civilian airshows. In 2016, the U.S. Military decided there would no limitations on the amount of aircraft they could send to civilian airshows.The 2016 Dayton show was primed for a huge year with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels Demonstration Team scheduled to perform, but two weeks before the Dayton show, Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss, who flew the number six jet, was tragically killed in a fatal practice crash at the Smyrna, Tenn. Airshow.The Navy’s Blue Angels canceled their appearance at the Dayton show, and organizers were left to find a replacement for the show’s headlining act. The Navy quickly responded with scheduling the West Coast F/A-18 E/F Demonstration Team as the replacement for the Blue Angels. The show organizers were concerned that losing the headlining military jet team just two weeks before the show would dramatically affect the attendance.In 2014, Michael Emoff, Chairman of Board for the Vectren Dayton Airshow commented during the government budget crisis that, “The crowds will return when military aircraft come back for static and flying demonstrations.” Emoff’s prediction came true. In 2015, there were only a few static military aircraft and the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, and in 2016 there were more than 20 static and two military jet flying demonstrations. The attendance improved 22 percent from last year despite the late cancellation by the Blue Angels.The Blue Angels cancellation meant that the team would not be there physically but in spirit. Major Kuss and the Blue Angels team were in everybody’s hearts and minds. The West Coast F/A-18F “Super Hornet” Demonstration Team dedicated their performance to Major Kuss and his family. The team also painted Kuss and the number six on the demonstration aircraft’s wing. The Navy Leap Frogs jumped with the number six flag, and the F-22 Demonstration team wore JK 6 patches on their uniforms.Headlining the 2016 Dayton show was the F-22 “Raptor” Demonstration Team. The team is based at Langley Air Force Base, but the team flies operation aircraft from different F-22 active units for each airshow. According to Major Dan “Buck” Dickinson, the F-22 is unique in the fact that the team doesn’t have a dedicated aircraft assigned to the team. “The two jets behind us are assigned to Tyndall Air Force Base, and the jets that we will use next week will be from Langley. It is really a collaborative effort between what we call Raptor Nation. That is all the F-22 units to support the F-22 Demo team,” said Dickinson.Major Dickinson also added, “The cool thing about the F-22 demo that is not the same for the other demos, is that these two jets behind me [F-22] are two fully combat-capable jets. The only thing we did to these aircraft is made sure there were no weapons on them. They are 100 percent ready to go. All it would take is to fly back home and load the weapons on it, and we would be ready to go.”The process of becoming the F-22 demonstration pilot is a very intense process, but Major Dickinson feels that his family legacy of flying fighter aircraft has helped him in his career. “My grandpa was an F-4 ‘Phantom’ driver, and he did two tours in Vietnam. My uncle was in the Air Force, and he flew F-16s for a long time. I guess being a fighter pilot runs in my blood. I have always had that desire to fly airplanes,” Dickinson said.The show closed both days with the U.S. Air Force Heritage flight of the F-22 and the P-51D Mustang. The demonstration honored all the men and women who have served in the armed forces. Pilot, Vlado Lenoch, flew the P-51D Baby Duck. The North American P-51 was one of the most famous World War II aircraft. Lonoch also flew the P-51D in a solo act during the show.Lt. Shaun “Buzz” Roessner and LT Nolan “Chub Mitts” Lucas from Strike Fighter Squadron VFA-122 based at Lemoore Naval Air Station, Calif. performed a power demonstration in the F/A-18F “Super Hornet.” The United States Navy Parachute Team, the Leap Frogs, showed the Dayton crowd their high-performance parachute demonstration. The U.S. Coast Guard simulated a water rescue with an H-65 “Dolphin” helicopter. The H-65 crew was from Air Station Detroit.
Tora! Tora! Tora! Recreation group marked the 75th anniversary of the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. The demonstration included eight modified aircraft to represent the Japanese attacking planes. The modified aircraft represent the Japanese Zero fighters, Kate torpedo bombers, and Val dive-bombers. The recreation also included a Commemorative Air Force P-40 “Warhawk” along with pyrotechnic effects that added to the crowd experience.Headlining the civilian portion of the Dayton event was airshow legend, Sean D. Tucker, in his highly modified Challenger III aircraft. Tucker is also the Young Eagles Chairman, and he flew local essay contest winner, Megan Reed, in his Extra 300 plane. The Young Eagles program is designed to give kids a chance to get a flight free of charge in order to increase interest in aviation.
Patty Wagstaff performed an aerobatic routine in a Short Tucano T MK.1. The Tucano is a two-seat turboprop basic trainer. Wagstaff is a 2004 National Aviation Hall of Fame inductee. Melissa Pemberton, an award-winning aerobatic pilot, flew a demonstration in her Edge 540 aircraft. The Redline two-ship team of Ken Rieder and Jon Thocker made their Dayton Airshow debut in their RV-8 aircraft.The ramp at Dayton was full of military and civilian aircraft for the first time in a few years. The Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II made its Dayton debut at the 2016 show. Two static display F-35As were from the 58th Fighter Squadron based at Eglin Air Force Base. The F-35A is the Air Force’s latest fifth generation fighter that is slated to replace the F-16 and A-10.
Military aircraft took center stage at the Dayton show with more than 20 planes on static display. The U.S. Air Force on display included C-17 Globemaster II, KC-135R Stratotanker, and F-16 Fighting Falcon. U.S. Navy aircraft on display included E-2 Hawkeye, F/A-18F Super Hornet, T-45 Goshawk. U.S. Army AH-64D Apache, and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters were also on display. NASA had a large ground display and an S-3B Viking on static display.
In a press release, Michael Emoff summed up the success of the 2016 show, “The weather was perfect, and people came out by the thousands to enjoy a spectacular show. Our thanks to the fans, volunteers, and sponsors for their continued support of the show.” There is no question that the attendance would have been higher with the Blue Angels flying, but with the show lineup and the higher military participation, the 2016 show was a success.”
