Image of the Air Force wings with the museum name underneath

Open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 
FREE Admission & Parking

Ninth World War I drama coming to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

  • Published
  • By Rob Bardua
  • National Museum of the U.S. Air Force
Commemorate the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I in Europe as one of the nation's premier historical aviation events brings the excitement and adrenaline of early air power to Ohio, Sept. 27-28 at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.

The World War I Dawn Patrol Rendezvous will feature vintage reproduction full-scale and 7/8-scale aircraft, such as the Nieuport, SE-5 and Fokker Dr. I triplane. Pilots will perform precision flying in the skies above the museum and compete in a flour-bombing competition, with aircraft launching from and landing on the field behind the museum.

Additional activities will include period re-enactors in a war encampment setting, era automobiles on display and participating in a parade, flying exhibitions by WWI radio-controlled aircraft, simulators, games, guest speakers, and a collector's show for WWI items. Food and merchandise will also be available for sale.

Gates will be open each day from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Admission and parking are free. Visitors may reach the event site by coming through the "Spinning Road Gate," located at the intersection of Airway and Spinning Roads (Joe Greene Way), or through the main museum gate on Springfield Street and following the signs that lead to the event area.

The event is offered by the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force and the Great War Aeroplanes Association. The last WWI Dawn Patrol Rendezvous took place in the fall of 2011.

The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, is the world's largest military aviation museum. With free admission and parking, the museum features more than 360 aerospace vehicles and missiles and thousands of artifacts amid more than 17 acres of indoor exhibit space. Each year about one million visitors from around the world come to the museum. For more information, visit www.nationalmuseum.af.mil.


NOTE TO PUBLIC: For more information, contact the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at (937) 255-3286.

NOTE TO MEDIA: For more information, contact Rob Bardua at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Public Affairs Division at (937) 255-1386, or visit http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/wwi.asp to register. A detailed video illustrating the event is also available at: