Port Authority Board Applauds Thunder Over the Valley

HOWLAND, Ohio – Officials with the Western Reserve Port Authority and Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport hailed last weekend’s Thunder Over the Valley air show, despite weather that clipped Sunday’s exhibition by the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds.

The exhibition team performed Saturday afternoon in the skies above Youngstown Air Reserve Station, where the air show was held, but was unable to fly Sunday due to weather conditions.

“It was a good air show,” Dan Dickten, director of aviation at Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport, told members of the Western Reserve Port Authority’s board of directors, which met Wednesday in the Howland Township Building. “It went great operationally,” he added.

An estimated 12,000 attended the air show Saturday and at least half that number attended Sunday, Dickten said.

Organizers attempted to move the Thunderbirds Sunday show from the scheduled 3 p.m. start to 1 p.m. in an attempt to beat the oncoming storm system.

“It came fast, it came furious,” Dickten said. “The weather beat us.” Most of the other aerial acts performed both days.

Other demonstrations included an appearance by a B-2 stealth bomber.

Board member David Detec called the event “a great success” and made a motion to extend the port authority’s congratulations to the air base, and to extend specific congratulations to the base commander, Air Force Col. Daniel Sarachene, and to Col. Jeff Shaffer, who was in charge of putting on the show.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.