Dayton, Ohio -- By early Saturday evening, the grounds of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force™ were already buzzing with activity. Children kicked soccer balls through open fields, tossed Frisbees and footballs, chased Nerf balls and launched whirly-gigs into the air while parents settled into lawn chairs arranged in circles or gathered around folding tables to play cards. Other families explored the galleries inside the Museum or simply relaxed in the shade. Hours before the drone show, it was clear people weren't just waiting for the show to begin—they were enjoying time together.
It looked less like a crowd waiting for a show than neighbors gathering for a summer evening.
It was a warm Saturday in late June, with passing showers giving way to brief periods of sunshine before the clouds rolled back in again. The weather remained uncertain throughout much of the day, but that didn't seem to discourage anyone. Cars continued arriving through the Museum gate hour after hour into the evening. Instead of arriving just before showtime, people came early, explored, lingered, and made an evening of it.
Inside the Museum, families explored aircraft that traced the history of military aviation from the earliest days of flight through today's Air Force and Space Force. Within the Museum, the National Aviation Hall of Fame welcomed visitors into its Joe Clark Innovation Lab, where children built NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, experimented with electronic circuits, tested designs in a wind tunnel and learned about modern drone technology from engineers with Dayton-based DEXA. Throughout the afternoon, the National Park Service introduced thousands of children to the principles of flight, giving away more than 2,500 Aero Props flying toys.
Before the evening was over, more than 16,000 people would visit the Museum campus.
Months earlier, none of this existed. The idea for Lights Over Dayton began in October 2025 during a Board of Trustees meeting of the National Aviation Heritage Area (NAHA). Members were discussing ways to commemorate America's 250th anniversary. Like so many brainstorming sessions, possibilities came and went as the group searched for something worthy of Ohio's aviation legacy.
Then trustee Amanda Wright Lane—Great Grand Niece of Orville and Wilbur Wright—asked, “What about a drone show?” mentioning she had recently attended one while traveling.
For fellow trustee Vince Russo, "the light went off."
Russo has spent much of his career encouraging young people to explore science, technology, engineering and mathematics. A drone show offered a new way to tell Ohio's aviation story using a technology that already fascinated many of them.
Lane's observation started the conversation. Russo and NAHA Board Chair Michael Heil began talking through what it would take to bring the idea to life. They needed a production partner capable of creating the show, and just as importantly, a venue that could welcome thousands of people while reinforcing the story they wanted to tell. There was one place that seemed like a natural fit—the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
When Russo and Heil shared the idea with Museum Director David Tillotson III, the discussion focused less on whether it could be done than on how to make it happen. Russo remembers Tillotson's response being characteristically direct: "I got it."
The Museum had hosted large public events before. It had the space, experience and staff to manage an event of this scale. Tillotson was confident the Museum could provide the operational expertise needed to bring the idea to life.
From there, the project became a true partnership.
Bringing the idea to life required far more than a drone company. Funding from the America 250-Ohio Commission made the production possible. NAHA coordinated the show with Firefly Drone Shows, developing a storyboard that followed the dream of flight—from the inspiration of birds to the Wright brothers, space exploration and the innovations shaping aviation's future. Meanwhile, the Museum's Special Events and Operations teams spent months coordinating with the 88th Air Base Wing, emergency responders, local law enforcement, community partners and volunteers to prepare the campus.
The Museum's Public Affairs team worked together with NAHA on a communications campaign that gradually shifted from introducing the event to helping visitors plan their day. Advertising, media outreach and social media invited visitors to experience the story of flight in a new way while also encouraging them to arrive early, explore the Museum and make an evening of it.
The Air Force Museum Foundation quietly played an equally important role. As the Museum's longtime nonprofit partner, it provided financial support for many of the temporary needs associated with an event of this scale.
While the Museum receives federal funding to preserve its collections and operate its facilities, many of the educational programs, special exhibits and community events visitors enjoy are made possible through Foundation support. For Lights Over Dayton, the Foundation funded much of the temporary infrastructure needed for an event of this size—including lighting, communications equipment and portable restrooms—while operating the Air Force Museum Store, Launchpad concessions, theater and attractions throughout the day.
As the plans came together, one challenge remained outside anyone's control.
The weather.
The original Friday evening performance was postponed because of storms moving through southwest Ohio. Although Saturday also brought periods of light rain and changing skies, weather forecasts from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base showed a favorable window for the evening show. Organizers made the decision Saturday morning to proceed and continued monitoring conditions throughout the day. The forecast proved accurate.
By 9 p.m., many families had already spent hours exploring the Museum, building helicopters in the Innovation Lab, talking with engineers, playing games on the lawn and simply enjoying a summer evening together.
As darkness fell, the story unfolded overhead. Beginning with the American flag and Ohio's state bird, the cardinal, the drones traced the dream of flight from its earliest inspiration through the Wright brothers, military aviation, space exploration and today's emerging technologies before returning home as the Wright Flyer settled over Dayton on a map of Ohio. The finale ended with drone fireworks synchronized to God Bless the U.S.A.
The drone show had become only one part of the day. Looking back, Tillotson said what stayed with him wasn't a particular drone formation. "It wasn't really my reaction," he said. "It was hearing everyone else's."
And in many ways, that was exactly what everyone had hoped for.
As families packed up lawn chairs and folded blankets after the show, children and adults alike were still talking about what they had seen.
"How do they do that?"
One young visitor perhaps summed up the evening best: "The Museum is already fun and then you have the drone show, which made it, like, ten times cooler."
Those comments won't appear in attendance figures or advertising reports. But they may say more about the evening than any of those numbers ever could.
Vince Russo often talks about inspiring the next generation to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Inspiration is difficult to measure, but curiosity isn't. You hear it in questions.
On one summer evening in Dayton, thousands of children—and plenty of adults—looked toward the sky and asked the same question.
"How do they do that?"