Vectren Dayton Air Show officials have announced that the world renowned U. S. Navy Blue Angels will appear on June 28-29 at the 2014 Vectren Dayton Air Show presented by Kroger. AeroShell Aerobatic Team, Shockwave jet truck and the A-4B Skyhawk jet warbird will join National Aviation Hall of Fame enshrinee Patty Wagstaff as featured performers in the show.
The world-class acts promise to make Dayton’s 40th annual air show a summer spectacle.Rumbling over the skies of Dayton with their 600-horsepower, Pratt & Whitney radial engines, the North American AeroShell Aerobatic Team will combine nostalgia, romance and entertainment in their colorful, World War II-era warbirds. The AeroShell team, led by Mark Henley, flies four North American AT-6G Texans in precision aerobatic maneuvers, including the bomb burst, avalanche and breath-taking “Switch Blade”.The world-famous Shockwave jet truck will include Dayton in its 30th anniversary tour. Created by Les Shockley and recently acquired by Darnell Racing Enterprises, Shockwave is a radically modified freighter truck that shoots fireballs, billows smoke and hurtles down the runway at speeds exceeding 300 miles per hour. Its three Westinghouse J34-48 jet engines produce 36,000 horsepower.
The Warbird Heritage Foundation’s A-4B Skyhawk is a light bomber/attack aircraft that was flown by both Navy Vice Adm. James Stockdale and Lt. Cdr. John McCain (now Senator McCain) during the Vietnam War. This Skyhawk is painted to represent an A-4C flown by Navy Lt. Cdr. Ted Swartz, who shot down a MiG-17 over North Vietnam—the only air-to-air kill by a Skyhawk during the entire conflict.
As previously announced, Patty Wagstaff will fly in the air show for the first time since 2009. A 2004 National Aviation Hall of Fame enshrinee, Patty has flown air shows and competitions around the world and is considered one of the top aerobatic pilots on the air show circuit—male or female.
“We’ve booked some of the best civilian air show acts in the world and there will be more to come,” said Emoff.
More details about the lineup will be made available when finalized and announced on the show’s website www.daytonairshow.com.