They're here for the National Aerobatic Championships which has been held in Denison for decades.
About 100 pilots hope to spin, flip and land a win at the event that begins this week.
"That's what everybody strives for when they first come here," pilot Kelly Adams said.
Adams flew in Tuesday from southeast Texas. He's a pilot for a commercial airline.
"You fly straight and normal for so long. Here it's a lot of precision, quick movements, quick thought process," he said.
North Texas Regional Airport director Mike Shahan says staff are now preparing for the event that's been held in Denison since 1971.
"Since '71, I think there's been three times that they were not here," Shahan said. "They went somewhere else but they've always come back here."
Still Shahan says local businesses benefit from the event.
"You're probably looking at 200 people staying here for a week and they're staying at hotels and so forth and some are in RV's, they're eating out, so there's a lot of benefit there," Shahan said.
While most fly for bragging rights, some are aiming for a spot on a 10 person National Aerobatics Team. The team will compete in the world championship next August in France.
The same event was held in Denison in 2013.
"The greatest aerobatic pilots in the world have set on this bench," NAC technical director Gary Deban said.
Shahan says practice flights begin Thursday.
The competition runs from Sunday through next Friday.
It is free and open to the public.
- Source: http://www.kten.com
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