Annual Westmoreland County Airshow returns to Latrobe this weekend

There’s a lot of excitement in the air this weekend for the annual Westmoreland County Airshow.

“I’m excited for the look on little kids faces, either after I fly the demo or before I fly the demo when I meet them,” said Captain Melanie Kluesner, the pilot flying the United States Air Force F-35A during the air show. “Watching them be excited about watching fast airplanes and getting excited for that.”

This is Kluesner’s first time flying the Westmoreland County Airshow, and the first time flying in Pennsylvania.

The F-35A is the Air Force’s latest Fifth Generation fighter jet. While it can break the sound barrier, Kluesner won’t be going quite that fast

“So, just below the speed of sound, .95 Mach, that equates to about 660 miles per hour on the ground.”

Spectators will be able to see her nearly break the sound barrier both Saturday and Sunday.

Each day kicks off with opening ceremonies around 12:20 p.m. followed by a parachute team demonstration, and tricks by pilots flying all types of planes -- some dating back to World War II.

Kluesner told Channel 11′s Andrew Havranek she loves getting to show off, what she says is one of the nation’s best fighter jets, and what it can do.

“What you see at the air shows is very unique flying,” Kluesner said. “In our typical training missions, no one’s doing what I’m doing at an air show. I’m showing the fastest, the lowest, really everything that the jet has, so it’s pretty hard to not be excited when you see that.”

The Westmoreland County Airshow is open to the public. Tickets are available at the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, but can be purchased at Shop n’ Save for a discounted rate of $14. Children under 10 get in free.

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