Lori Dudzinsky of Derry Township has watched the Shop ’n Save Westmoreland Airshow grow from small beginnings.

She’s been attending the events since the late 1970s, when her father, Jack Myers of Derry Township, started providing portable toilets for the event through his rental company. Dudzinsky and Myers braved the threat of rainy weather Sunday at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity.

“I just think it’s important,” Dudzinsky said. “It shows the younger generation what the military does and gets them excited.”

Myers, an Army veteran, said he and his daughter were worried about the weather but were glad the only disruptions were a few brief rain showers at the start of Sunday’s events.

“I love it,” he said. “They’ve always been good air shows.”

Thousands of other spectators loved it, too, on Sunday, the final day of the event. Many turned their cameras or smartphones to the sky to capture the aerobatic performances or high-powered jets on a background of sometimes dark clouds.

Saturday’s show was packed with spectators. Fewer fans attended Sunday.

“(Saturday) was one of our best shows ever, just by response,” said Gabe Monzo, director of the Westmoreland County Airport Authority. “Maybe not crowd-wise, but enthusiasm-wise.”

Officials configured the air show differently this year to address concerns with spectator safety and other issues. That meant attendees who brought lawn chairs were corralled in specific areas farther away from where the planes took off and landed.

About 300 volunteers were on hand to assist the airport authority staff throughout the weekend’s events.

“This doesn’t happen without them,” he said, adding that staff members have become experts at putting on air shows.

The early rain left two young members of the Smith family — Rosalie, 2, and Joanna, 5 — with wet hair, but that didn’t bother them. The girls played with small wooden airplanes while waiting for the show to begin with their mother, Amy, and father, Alex. The Smiths were impressed at the number of ground displays in addition to the action in the air.

“It’s a nice thing to do for an afternoon, even if it’s raining,” Alex Smith said.

“We’ll probably be coming back every year,” Amy Smith added.

It was Elderton resident Jerry Osborne’s first time at the air show. A Vietnam veteran with the Marines, Osborne said he was enjoying spending time with family and was looking forward to seeing the Air Force F-16 Viper demonstration. By then, clouds had cleared.

His daughter, Megan Smith of North Huntingdon, who brought Osborne’s granddaughters, said she was looking forward to seeing something that wasn’t listed on the schedule: “the smiles.”

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)