After taking a year off, officials hope to land some help from NASA when the air show returns for Memorial Day 2021 at the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport.
“We’re checking into something new,” said Gabe Monzo, executive director of the county Airport Authority.
Monzo said he was not certain what kind of exhibit NASA would bring to the Unity airport if it agrees to appear at the 2021 Shop ‘n Save Westmoreland County Airshow or whether there would be any cost.
A spokesperson for NASA could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.
A NASA exhibit last year at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh near Appleton, Wisc., featured at least 17 NASA aeronautics-related speaker and panel sessions. The sessions covered topics such as developments in urban air mobility, the progress on making the all-electric X-57 Maxwell plane and the “quiet supersonic” X-59 QueSST research X-planes, according to the space agency. The Oshkosh air show is referred to as the “World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration.”
STEM activities related to the X-59 supersonic jet gave visitors the opportunity to learn more about sound by using various materials to see sound waves in action. NASA officials also provided updates on its space program and an historical overview of the space race during Project Apollo. Visitors were able to take the controls of drone flight simulator and test their skills on safely maneuvering the drone around the buildings of a city, perform aerobatics and make a precise landing, according to NASA.
The airport authority announced in November that it would not have an air show this year because it was unable to land a leading act.
The 2021 air show has its lead act — the Navy’s popular Blue Angels jet squadron with its precision flight demonstrations. It is the first time the Blue Angels will perform there since 2017.
Joe Napsha is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Joe at 724-836-5252, [email protected] or via Twitter .
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