The American Airlines DC-3 “Flagship Detroit,” which operated until 1947, is flown by retired American Airlines pilots. The DC-3, designed to improve on the earlier DC-2, included sleeping berths and an in-flight kitchen, which helped transform air travel in the United States.
The Air Force’s E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft provides surveillance, target detection and tracking services for U.S. forces to provide real-time pictures of battle spaces. The E-3 Sentry’s radar has a range of more than 250 miles. The one that will be displayed in Dayton comes from Tinker Air Force Base, Okla.
Also among the ground displays will be two vintage airplanes, the B-25 bomber “Champaign Gal” from the Champaign Aviation Museum in Urbana and a WACO biplane from the WACO Air Museum in Troy.
For more information, go online to the air show’s website at www.daytonairshow.com.