In the middle of rural Belmont County, a tight-knit web of students, faculty and alumni represent Union Local High School. But perhaps nobody represents the school’s mascot – the jets – more than the newest member of their community: A retired U.S. Air Force Thunderbird F-16, which now sits on an imposing pedestal in the front lawn.
Still donning the red and blue stripes of the synchronized flight group, the plane marks the first and only Thunderbird jet ever donated to a high school.
Alumnus Dirk Davis serves as the president of the Union Local Afterburners Committee – a special group he formed for the sole purpose of obtaining the jet.
Although the group began working on bringing to life 71-year-old Davis’s dream in 2018, it’s the fourth group to attempt to get a jet for the school. The excitement in their voices as they talked about the accomplishment was tangible.
“I’m just glad that I lived long enough to see it happen,” Davis said.
Pete Busack, 61, is a member of the Afterburners Committee even though he never attended Union Local. He got involved in 2020 because Davis heard about his connections to the aviation community. Although the process was eight years long, Busack said he never doubted they could make it happen.
“Deep down in my heart, I always knew I’d get them a jet,” Busack said. “And I did. I knew I could pull this off. I figured it out.”
In April 2020, Busack applied for an F-16 jet through the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton on behalf of the Afterburners Committee. In August 2020, it was approved and told it would need to raise enough money to prove it could do adequate maintenance on the jet.
In 2024, the high school began construction on the foundation and pedestal for the jet to sit on. The entire process was covered by donations, according to Busack, who said no tax dollars were spent from beginning to end.
Busack said in total, they’ve raised almost $125,000 for the project, not including the value of donated work and materials.
By November 2024, Union Local was number 53 on a waitlist for an F-16. Busack suggested to Davis that they go to the Dayton museum and present their position to the curator, including the work they’d done on the pedestal and the money they’d collected.
“We were No. 53 on the list to get an F-16,” Busack said. “In five days, we went from No. 53 to No. 1.”
Michael “Mo” Beale, chairman of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds Association and retired Thunderbird pilot, worked with the members of the Afterburners Committee to coordinate the jet’s move beginning in 2025.
The jet, technically known as a Block 30 F-16, joined the Thunderbirds in about 1992 and was likely used for shows up until about 2008. In 2009, the Thunderbirds switched to a newer model of the F-16, the Block 50, leading to this plane being retired and was instead used as a maintenance trainer, Beale said.
While Union Local is now responsible for maintenance and upkeep on the plane in exchange for its ability to display it, Beale said the plane is still the property of the United States government, referring to it as being “on loan.”
“There’s a lot of upkeep,” Beale said. “The Air Force doesn’t like to just let people have a multimillion-dollar static display airplane just sitting out in the rain and sun and snow. You’ve got to paint it periodically, and there’s certain expenses involved. They like to know that it’s going to be taken care of because they will take them back if they’re not.”
Taylore Frasnelly, 32, is the dedication chairwoman for the Afterburners Committee and a Union Local alumna, although she only attended for one year in 2007. Currently, she’s planning the dedication for the jet and is hoping to coordinate a flyover from the Thunderbirds for it sometime in 2027.
“It’s amazing to think that last December this jet was in the air and now it’s on a pedestal in front of Union Local High School,” Frasnelly said.
Class of 2026 valedictorian Brady Roe said he started hearing conversations about the jet being donated as a freshman, and it was “surreal” to see it come to fruition.
“On the student side of things, it was more jokes about it,” Roe said. “I don’t think many people actually thought it was happening, but once it did come, it was hard to find a conversation where it didn’t really come up.”
Roe said the donation of the jet bolstered school spirit by giving them a physical object representative of their mascot they could be proud of.
Fellow class of 2026 valedictorian Delaney Butler said she thinks the plane has brought positive attention and support for their school.
“We’re located right next to the interstate,” Butler said. “Anybody who drives on [Interstate] 70 past our school will see the jet. It’s kind of cool just to have out there and realize how many people really love our school and come and support it and are excited that that’s there now.”
Busack said he got into this because of the high schoolers at Union Local.
“It’s for the kids, man,” Busack said. “This might inspire a lot of children, seeing that plane.”
Reporting Intern Lilli Malone can be reached at lmalone@dispatch.com or on Instagram at @lillimwrites.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio high school lands rare US Air Force Thunderbird jet
Reporting by Lilli Malone, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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By Lilli Malone, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
