AUGLAIZE COUNTY, OH (WLIO) - Around 90 planes landed in New Knoxville today in search of the perfect viewing spot.
Families, couples, and solo pilots from all over the country gathered at Auglaize County's Neil Armstrong Airport to watch today's eclipse. After landing, there was also a shuttle available to take them to the Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Wapakoneta. The crowd gathered on the tarmac was a good mix of first-time eclipse viewers, eclipse chasers, and astronomers.
"I didn't want to go into a big, major airport. I wanted to go to a smaller airport that would be able to have more freedom there, but I wanted an airport that was big enough that it had instrument approaches in case the weather was bad, and this one fit the bill perfectly," explained Jack Phillips, Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia.
"I am one of those eclipse junkies. We flew down to Tennessee in 2017 to watch the eclipse, loved it. I brought down an astronomer from the Detroit area, loved every minute of it," commented Tim Fino, Detroit, Michigan.
"Well, I'm an astronomer as well; I'm a physicist, and loved to look at the stars and interested in astronomical phenomena, so coming out to an eclipse, it's like a very rare occasion, and wanted to see it," said Theodore Hodapp, South Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Students from Montana State University were also at the airport doing NASA-funded research on how the eclipse affects the atmosphere.
