WANT TO GO?
WHAT: Vectren Dayton Air Show
WHERE: Dayton International Airport, Vandalia
HOURS: 9 a.m. – 6 p.m., June 18-19
TICKETS: General admission tickets are available at area Kroger stores and at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. Advance online sales are available through Sunday, June 19 at noon. All ticket sales are final, no refunds, no rain checks. Click here to view the assortment of ticket options or call 888-695-0888. Tickets available at the gate are cash only.
The Dayton Air Fair, as it was called at the time, was held for the first time in 1975, and it will continue with its latest show this weekend. Here are some things you didn't know about the Air Show's history.
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1. Hot air balloons were a featured act to start. In the first year, a hot air balloon rally started each day of the show.
2. A loving bribe produced one of the first big draws. Pat and Bob Wagner of Moraine produced a wing walker act, with Pat doing the walking. It was a major attraction at that first show. How did Bob get his wife to start the wing walking? "He bribed me saying he'd take me out for a steak dinner if I got on," she said.
3. A straight-up take off caught eyes. A Harrier AV-8A showed off a vertical take-off as one of the biggest crowd-pleasers at the initial show.
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