The annual Dayton Air Show took off in 1975, but air shows and flying exhibitions in Dayton go back 100 years to the Wright Company’s exhibition team, which trained at Huffman Prairie and made its flying debut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in June 1910.
Aviation writer Timothy R. Gaffney will discuss Dayton’s air show history and highlight past major Dayton aviation shows, including national military shows and a national women’s air race. It all takes place at the Engineers Club, Wednesday, March 17, 7:00 pm.
Mr. Gaffney is a former Dayton Daily News aviation writer, publisher of AviationDayton.com, and author of Dayton Air Show: A Photographic Celebration, which features photos by Dayton Daily News photographer Ty Greenlees.
The Aviation Heritage Speaker Series offers the public a variety of speakers addressing topics related to aviation history through engaging discussion and first-hand accounts.
All programs are on Wednesdays, 7:00 p.m. at the Engineers Club, 110 East Monument Avenue, Dayton, Ohio. These events are free and open to the public.
This inspiring World War II story spotlights 450 men who fought on two fronts at once. Black American aviators, known as the Tuskegee Airmen, battled Axis powers in Europe and North Africa and then took on racism at home. Trained by the segregated military system as an experiment to see if blacks could fly in combat, these pilots made more than 15,000 sorties and 1,500 missions. Their success led to the integration of the U.S. armed forces.
● February 27 and 28 at 10:00am and 2:00pm – “Harlem Renaissance”