dayton air show



Wright State grad to lead headline act at Air Show,Wednesday was something of a homecoming for Air Force Lt. Col. Greg Thomas.

Thomas, a Wright State University graduate who grew up in Cincinnati, and another member of the Air Force Thunderbirds touched down Wednesday, July 15, at Dayton International Airport. The precision flight team is the headline act at the Vectren Dayton Air Show this weekend at the airport. It will be Thomas’ first performance at the air show.

“It’s very, very exciting, to tell you the truth,” said Thomas, the team’s commander. “I’m a bit nervous, too, to be able to come to my hometown, for the most part, in front of family and friends.”

Performing before those he knows means the pressure’s on “to put on a good, safe show,” the F-16 pilot said.

“Safety’s No. 1,” Thomas said.

He’s been hearing from friends in anticipation of the show.

“Actually, I have been getting e-mails for quite some time, people saying they’re going to come out,” Thomas said.

On hand to greet him were two of his children, Jennifer, 13, and Ryan, 11, as well as his mother-in-law, Centerville resident Brenda Sipes.

Sipes, a former air show volunteer, recalled how Thomas, while still a member of Air Force ROTC at Wright State, once speculated on what it would be like to fly to Dayton as a military pilot.

“At that time, it was all hopeful,” Sipes said. “And who would ever have thought that he would be flying in here as a Thunderbird, especially as commander?”

Other Thunderbird pilots are scheduled to arrive today, show officials said.