DAYTON, Ohio — Roaring engines broke through gray skies, low clouds and the threat of rain as the CenterPoint Energy Dayton Air Show took off for its final show Sunday afternoon.
Since 1975, the show has delighted aviation enthusiasts from across the region, especially Fred Panella. Excepting last year’s canceled performances, he said he can’t remember missing many shows.
“I look forward to it all year,” Panella said.
U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds fly over air show
Up until late May, the air show was set to run with reduced attendance as a drive-in event. Every family would have had to stay in their vehicles and hear commentary from a radio. The event returned to its normal format after organizers learned all of Ohio’s pandemic restrictions would be lifted well before mid-July.
Panella was happy for the return to form because he said for him and his family, the air show is an all-day event.
He spends the morning wandering through the ground exhibits, checking out some of the planes that will fly in the afternoon.
“I just love these fighter jets, he said. “The sleekness, everything about them is just great.”
Though he’s no pilot himself, Panella’s been to the air show enough times he said he can serve as a guide for others.
“A pound of rubber comes off of every tire every time they land,” he said showing his son the wheels of the C-17 Globemaster III.
Panella tours planes with his family
Panella spent most of his life in the Miami Valley and he said it’s where he fell in love with aviation.
“We used to go to the end of the runway at the airport with chicken dinners and ball gloves and wave at the airplanes land and wave at the people in the planes,” he said. “So we’ve been doing it for a long time and we never seem to get tired of it.”
Going to the air show every year was a family tradition and when his grandchildren were born, they came along nearly every year as well.
“It’s just fun,” he said.
As the kids grew up though, Panella said the tradition started falling off. This year though, he got a Father’s Day surprise from his granddaughter, Megan Dibble.
Panella sits with his granddaughter Dibble
“My husband has never actually been to an airshow before so I thought it would be fun to get the family together and show him what it’s all about,” she said.
She surprised her dad and grandfather with tickets for the whole family. Dribble said it was the perfect way to come together as a family post-pandemic and the perfect gift for the biggest aviation fan around.
“And he passes it along to everyone he knows,” she said.
For the 46th anniversary show, the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds returned as headliners, while the show also featured the Boeing Super Hornet, stunt pilot Michael Wiskus, the U.S. Army Golden Knights and the precision AeroShell Aerobatic team.
