Casie and I headed to the Dayton Air Show today. I received two Chalet Tickets, compliments of the Air Force Association (AFA) for my service in Iraq. The Chalet Area is a reserved private area, which provides premier viewing of the show. Chalets include a large air-conditioned tented food serving area, umbrella tables with chairs, and theater seating.
We arrived just as the lunch buffet was beginning to get packed up, but we did manage to grab a hot dog and some chips. Drinks were complimentary all afternoon as well. In the three years Casie and I have been stationed in Ohio we have always managed to miss the air show due to various reasons (deployments, trips, etc). This year we had one of the best seats at the show.
The first show we caught was Jim LeRoy in his Bulldog bi-plane.
It was truly amazing to watch. We also got to see the F-15 Heritage Flight with a P-51 and F-4. The sound those jet engines gave me goose bumps.
I also ran into an old friend's brother, Mark Amnormino, providing security around the F-117.
We also saw a CV-22 Osprey demo.…and then the unthinkable happened.
During a stunt show called Codename: Mary’s Lamb Jim LeRoy, the same gentleman I mentioned earlier, was unable to pull out of a dive and crashed. I am still in disbelief it happened. The Dayton Daily News has plenty of coverage on this horrific accident. Below is a diagram of how the crash happened.
Not much to say after witnessing something like that other than to keep his family in your prayers.
