Dayton Air Show organizers prepare for return

DAYTON — It has been two years since the last CenterPoint Energy Dayton Air Show and organizers are eager to welcome spectators back to Dayton International Airport.

Shiela Wallace, Air Show Media Relations, told News Center 7′s Mike Campbell that everyone connected to the show has been “working around the clock” preparing for the show, which returns July 10-11.

The show will be headlined the United States Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, otherwise known as the Thunderbirds.

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This year, one of the solo pilots with the Thunderbirds is Beavercreek native, Kyle Oliver.

“He’s the young man who actually turned that dream into reality,” Wallace said about Oliver, who dreamed of being a pilot while visiting the Dayton Air Show as a child.

The show will feature six hours of flying acts both days with acts put on precision flyers.

The show will also feature various models of planes for spectators to walk through. This is possible because instead of a COVID-19 restricted, drive-up show, organizers were granted permission to have a regular show. Wallace noted that there will be plenty of hand sanitizer and space to social distance.

Wallace said the Dayton Air Show made it through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic in good shape.

“Dayton is on a solid foundation and we’re here to stay. We’re not going any place,” Wallace said.

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