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DAYTON - A Sinclair Community College aviation student received a $2,000 scholarship award Saturday, July 19, at the Vectren Dayton Air Show in honor of aerobatics pilot Jim LeRoy, who was killed when his plane crashed during last year's air show.

Air show officials and LeRoy's widow, Joanie LeRoy, presented the award to Shawn Riffee, of Zanesville, who is studying in Sinclair's aviation program as he works to become a pilot. The air show's board, the United States Air & Trade Show, decided to give the one time award in memory of Jim LeRoy, who had been one of the best-known pilots on the country's air show circuit over the years.

Crowds flocked to the air show's opening day on Saturday despite the usual July heat, broken in part by a gentle breeze. Some spectators sat in folding chairs under the wings of military aircraft parked for ground display.

It was a homecoming for Navy Lt. Page Felini, a West Chester native and 1995 Lakota High School graduate. Felini, 30, flew a Navy F/A 18 Super Hornet fighter in a 600 mph demonstration for the air show crowd. She is assigned to fly at air shows, so she is on the road for months.

"My joke is that my house in Virginia Beach (Va.) is the world's biggest storage location," Felini said.

Coming back home for the Dayton Air Show was special, she said. Her brother-in-law brought his family to see her fly.

Felini watched pilots of smaller planes flip and roll their planes, then fall into steep drops, only to turn upward in the waning seconds as they approached the ground.

"I wouldn't do those things," she said. "I feel safer in my Hornet."

The aerial show Saturday concluded with an Air Force heritage flight featuring the new F-22A Raptor fighter, its older sister fighter the F-16 and the World War II P-51 Mustang. The air show dedicated the heritage flight to all military veterans in attendance.

Saturday, July 19, 1:41 p.m.

James Dozer is no stranger to the Vectren Dayton Air Show or military aircraft. A U.S. Air Force veteran, Dozer said he has attended the show 15 times.

The Columbus resident — who spent 10 years as a military aircraft mechanic — said he journeyed to the Dayton area on Saturday, July 19, to see the F-22 Raptor and other fighters tear across the skies.

"I like the war birds," he said.

Patrons like Dozer got an eyeful as the F-16 Fighting Falcon roared through a triple roll and blazed overhead at 650 mph, the fighter's roar drowning out Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train," and other rock tunes blaring from loudspeakers.

A trio of AH 64-D Apache Longbow combat choppers went through their paces. And, before that, a World War Two-era B-25 fighter, silver-skin glistening in the sunlight, bomb bay doors open, streaked overhead.

Earlier in the morning, opening ceremonies featured skydivers from the all-female Misty Blues team drifting toward the ground as USAF Staff Sgt. Terra Mason belted out the National Anthem. American flags carried by the skydivers rippled in the wind as the divers glided downward.

Following the opening ceremonies, the 1911 Wright B Flyer buzzed overhead.

On the ground, patrons milled through the bowels of a C-5 Galaxy cargo transport plane and explored the interior of an MV-22B Osprey, a vertical take-off-and-landing vehicle.

The flying demonstrations began with remote-controlled models, such as a B-25 bomber, buzzed overhead, peppering the ground with small "bombs" trailing white streamers. Pairs of remote-controlled craft twisted and twirled in the sky, leaving thin trails of smoke in their wake.

Patrons might want to pack sunscreen, bring a hat and some bottled water.

The National Weather Service looks for temperatures to climb into the upper 80s, and skies to stay mostly sunny. Winds from the southwest will range between 5 mph and 10 mph, the weather service said.