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From Hurricane to Flying Tiger: WHS grad will pilot A-10 to Dayton Air Show


WHS grad will pilot A-10 to Dayton Air Show

Wilmington native and U.S. Air Force Capt. Aaron Seyfried of the 74th Fighter Squadron dons his flight gear before getting in the cockpit of an A-10C Thunderbolt II at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia.
Wilmington native and U.S. Air Force Capt. Aaron Seyfried of the 74th Fighter Squadron dons his flight gear before getting in the cockpit of an A-10C Thunderbolt II at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia.

Senior Airman Janiqua P. Robinson | U.S. Air Force

Capt. Aaron Seyfried in front of an A10 “Warthog,” the plane he pilots in the 74th Fighter Squadron.

Courtesy Photos

DAYTON — While he won’t be up in the great blue yonder this weekend, he will be there to chat with locals.
U.S. Air Force Capt. Aaron Seyfried, a 2008 Wilmington High School graduate, will be one of the pilots at the Vectren Dayton Air Show this weekend — with an A-10 Thunderbolt II, the plane he flies.
Seyfried is a member of the famous 74th Fighter Squadron, better known as “The Flying Tigers.”
The A10 — affectionately called the “Warthog” for its aggressive look and often painted with teeth on the nose cone — is the Air Force’s primary low-altitude close air support aircraft, according to military.com.
The A-10 is perhaps best known for its fearsome GAU-8 Avenger 30mm Gatling gun mounted on the nose. The GAU-8 is designed to fire armor-piercing depleted uranium and high explosive incendiary rounds.
Its maximum speed is 450 knots (Mach 0.75) with a range of 2,580 miles.
“He’s not doing any fancy flying or anything, but will be there with his A10 on display,” said Seyfried’s mother, Nancy Stanforth.
Nancy is proud of her son, as is Seyfried’s stepfather, Wilmington Mayor John Stanforth.
“John does like to brag about his step-son,” said Nancy. “And of course he’s proud of a Wilmington kid doing so well.”
Seyfried is a 2013 graduate of Wright State University with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering, and a Distinguished Graduate of pilot training the next year. He joined the ROTC program his sophomore year at Wright State where he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in 2013.
Seyfried graduated from the undergraduate program at Laughlin Air Force Based in Del Rio, Texas in 2015. He became a Captain in 2017 while in South Korea. Now he’s stationed at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia.
Nancy said that Seyfried wonders why people are asking about him since so many from his graduating class have become successful.
Seyfried told the News Journal by phone this week that he doesn’t want to be looked at as a hero.
He has always wanted to be a jet pilot ever since he was four years old and would watch “Top Gun” with his dad.
“He doesn’t toot his own horn, but he has a whole brass section to toot,” said Nancy.
Seyfried’s past few days have been busy with flying his A-10 and getting up to Dayton for the air show.
“That’s what’s really neat about Aaron. He’s extremely hard-working and extremely focused,” said Nancy.
The annual Vectren Dayton Air Show is this weekend, June 23-24, at the Dayton International Airport.
Gates open at 9 a.m. both Saturday and Sunday, with the feature show noon-4:15 p.m. and gates closing at 6 p.m. daily.
For more information, visit www.daytonairshow.com.

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