August | 2010 | Wells-Photo.com

Photo by Ty Greenlees : Dayton Daily News

Wells Photography was able to travel on the weekend of July 17th up to Dayton, OH (actually Vandalia, OH) to the Vectren Dayton Air Show 2010. To really experience the event as photographers, Bethany let AJ rent some camera equipment that they will never be able to afford to buy (the Canon 300mm f/2.8 IS USM…look it up). So, they traveled with Bethany’s parents and brother (and her brother’s friend!). They left early in the morning so they wouldn’t miss any of the festivities. About five-sixths of the way there, AJ realized that he had forgotten their two tickets and had to make a pitstop at a local Kroger. Kroger was sponsoring the event so they got cheaper tickets there. So after that stop, it was on to the air show.

::End of weird narration in the third person::

After arriving we found our spot to set up camp. It took us a while to actually find our spot and after two or three tries, we found one that stuck.

Wright Brothers Flyer Reconstruction

After settling down, we took some time to go see some of the static displays. We saw a Wright Brothers reconstruction, an A-10 Warthog, a C-5 Galaxy, a couple of F-18 Hornets (one from Canada!), an MV-22 Osprey, a B-52 Stratofortress, and many other static displays.

FedEx B727

A-10 Warthog

Then we were able to see the main events, the air performers. First we saw a 19 year-old by the name of Kevin Coleman. He was magnificent. He started the day off on the right foot for sure and set the bar high for the rest of the performers.

Kevin Coleman Aerosports

We saw a P-51 Mustang make a few passes and then we saw an F/A-18 Super Hornet perform. Man, that thing was loud. I think this performance was the highlight of my day. I really enjoyed watching those two guys fly!

P-51 Mustang

F/A-18 Super Hornet

We also saw Sean Tucker, the Aeroshell Aerobatic Team, the Schooltime Jet Bus, Kyle Franklin and his wife Amanda (they were wing walkers…pretty intense), and an F-16 Fighting Falcon.

Aeroshell Aerobatic Team

Sean Tucker

Kyle and Amanda Franklin

F-16 Fighting Falcon

The second to the last flight we saw was of two B-17s. They consituted 20% of the remaining active B-17 fleet. It was really neat to see two different versions of the mighty B-17 fly together.

B-17 Flying Fortress

Mock Bombing run with B-17 Flying Fortress in top left corner

The final show of the day included two flights. The first was by the C-130 Hercules of the Blue Angels known as “Fat Albert.” That plane was flown impressively. He took off almost straight up and when it landed, it stopped in 1500 feet and then taxied backwards. WOW!

C-130 Hercules as “Fat Albert”

Then finally, the Blue Angels flew. And they were as impressive as ever. It was a gorgeous day and they were able to take advantage of the clear skies. It was pretty humid so contrails from their wings made their flights even more impressive looking. All in all, it was a great day. It was a great experience for us and we really enjoyed the time we were able to spend up in Ohio. But really, we were just excited to photograph airplanes all day. And the camera equipment was pretty sweet, too!