25,000 attend Youngstown air base open house

VIENNA — An air show may be coming to the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in two years.

That would be a follow up to Saturday’s open house that gave area residents their first look at the base in 22 years.

Bob Barko Jr. — the popular local artist — is now a tech sergeant and superintendent of public affairs at the air base.

He and Capt. Brent J. Davis, director of base public affairs, said that when Col. Karl McGregor became commander of the 910th Airlift Wing, he wanted an open house.

The base also includes the Navy Reserve’s Operational Support Center and the Marine Corps Reserve’s Landing Support Equipment Company. Almost 2,000 people are assigned there.

Despite light rain most of the day, the two men estimated that about 25,000 people visited the base.

Traffic was backed up on state Route 11 and near the airbase itself. Some people reported being tied up in traffic for two hours.

But people of all ages were happily looking at airplanes on the ground, or, in case of the large cargo planes that are a staple of the airlift wing, walking through them.

Barko said the station’s impact on the local economy of about $115 million a year.

For this and related stories, and photos, see Sunday's Vindicator or Vindy.com.