Unique Displays Added to Dayton Air Show Line-up

Flagship Detroit, AWACS E-3 Sentry Among Unique Displays Added to Show Line-up

Dayton, Ohio – The Vectren Dayton Air Show Presented by Kroger announced today the addition of some rather unique static display aircraft that will participate in the 2012 Show on July 7th and 8th.  Heading the list of unusual static aircraft will be the American Airlines DC-3 Flagship Detroit and a USAF E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS).  The 38th annual event will take place at the Dayton International Airport.  

The Douglas Aircraft Company produced and flew the first DC-3 on December 17, 1935 (the 32nd anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ Flight at Kitty Hawk).  The DC-3 was the result of a request by American Airlines to enhance the DC-2.  The new and improved DC-3 included sleeping berths and an in-flight kitchen, which transformed air travel in the United States.  Manufactured in 1937, the Flagship Detroit was the 21st of 84 DC-3’s delivered to American Airlines and operated between 1936 and 1947.  The speed and range of the DC-3 revolutionized passenger air travel in the 1930s and 1940s and is considered one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made.  Purchased by the Flagship Detroit Foundation in 2004, the Flagship Detroit was restored to operate as a flying tribute to all American Airlines’ employees past and present.  It is flown by retired American Airlines’ pilots, who will appear in period-uniforms. The Flagship Detroit has the honor of being the oldest flying DC-3 in the world today.

The USAF E-3 is a modified Boeing 707 that provides airborne warning and control system (AWACS) for U.S. forces.  Performing such duties as surveillance,   target detection and tracking, the E-3 provides a real-time picture of the battlespace.  The distinctive rotating radar dome on top of the aircraft is 30 feet in diameter and 6 feet thick in its center.  The Sentry’s radar has a range of more than 250 miles and has a flight crew of 4 and a mission crew of 13-19 specialists.  There are 32 E-3s in the U.S. inventory, and they are stationed across the globe.  Because of the data collection and radar capability of the Sentry, an entire air war has been recorded for the first time in the history of aerial warfare.  The E-3 on static display at the 2012 Vectren Dayton Air Show is from Tinker AFB, Oklahoma. 

Along with these two visiting aircraft, the 2012 Vectren Dayton Air Show Presented by Kroger will host two local vintage airplanes.  The B-25 Champaign Gal from the Champaign Aviation Museum in Urbana, Ohio will be on static display along with WACO aircraft being coordinated by the WACO Air Museum in Troy, Ohio.  The B-25 was a medium bomber extensively used during WWII, and the WACO was a bi-plane produced during the Golden Age of airplanes from 1919-1947.  For a current list of all the static aircraft participating in the 2012 Show, visit the show’s website at http://www.daytonairshow.com/pages/02_performers/staticAircraft.html .

The U.S. Navy Blue Angels will headline the 2012 show.  Other recently announced performers include the Sea Harrier, a vertical takeoff and landing jet aircraft; TORA TORA TORA, an emotional reenactment of the bombing of Pearl Harbor complete with pyrotechnics; Michael Goulian, an acclaimed, high-energy aerobatic performer; P51 Quick Silver, a beautifully restored WWII fighter; Gene Soucy Air Shows, barnstorming and wing walking at its best; the Misty Blues, the world’s only all-woman skydiving team; and the A-4B Skyhawk, a Vietnam-era jet fighter.

Get discount general admission tickets now for the Saturday or Sunday show at over 100 Kroger stores in the Dayton-Cincinnati region.  Specialty seating options including the popular Blue Sky Chalet and LaRosa’s Pavilion are available through the show’s web site, www.daytonairshow.com.