Look Up!
Before the first jet ever streaks across the Texarkana sky on June 27, there will be a feeling in the air, sparked by excitement, the kind that stirs memories and makes people stop and look up. For one day, the rumble of engines and the sight of aircraft soaring overhead will transform Texarkana. It will become a celebration of the American spirit, hometown pride, and the wonder that can still make a child dream bigger than the horizon. As the nation prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday on July 4, few events capture the heart of patriotism quite like watching an airshow.
For Brandon Sanders, Director of Aviation at Texarkana College (TC), the return of the airshow feels like a homecoming for a city that once stood proudly on the aviation map. “Texarkana has a long and proud aviation history that has largely been forgotten since the 1990s,” Sanders said. “Local pilots have set world records, including Dr. Bookout’s speed records in his Cherokee Six. Ross Perot Jr. also became the first person to circumnavigate the world in a helicopter, adding to Texarkana’s impressive list of aviation achievements.”
For decades, Texarkana was known as a premier aviation destination. In the 1970s and ‘80s, crowds gathered to watch the Blue Angels and Army Golden Knights perform dazzling routines overhead. Then storms, airport damage, and setbacks slowly silenced the tradition. “After that, there was little appetite to try again,” Sanders said. “Until now.”
After two years of planning, preparation, fundraising, and safety coordination, the city is ready to welcome aviation back in a major way.
The day’s events will begin with a 5K hosted by For the Sake of One, followed by a barbecue cookoff, and live music performances by Heather Lynn and the Deacons, Cam Allen, and Wade Bowen. There will be rides in exotic supercars such as the Lamborghini Huracan, and various aircraft displays, including F-18 and AC-130J, along with restored World War II planes that helped shape American history.
Then, at 4:30 p.m., the sky show begins! “The Army Golden Knights will parachute in with the flag, and that will start a cascade of flyovers, fighter jet dogfights, stunt planes, helicopter demos, and more,” Sanders said. Among the featured performers is the Full Throttle Formation Team, whose pilots fly within mere feet of one another at speeds reaching 200 miles per hour.
Justin “Bongo” von Linsowe, one of the team’s pilots, says the greatest part of performing is not the flying itself but seeing the reactions afterward. “Once we’re back on the ground, we get to see the faces of the crowd and see the excitement they have for the show,” he said. “That’s when we get to interact and try to inspire the next generation of aviators and see kids’ faces light up when we get to talk to them about aviation, airplanes, and flying.” Perhaps that is the true heart of an air show.
Somewhere in that crowd on June 27 will be a little boy or girl staring up at the sky in complete amazement. Maybe they will grip their parents’ hands tighter as jets thunder overhead. Maybe they will watch a pilot climb from the cockpit and think, “I want to do that someday.” Years from now, that child may become a pilot, mechanic, engineer, air traffic controller or military aviator because of one unforgettable summer afternoon in Texarkana.
Von Linsowe understands that kind of inspiration firsthand. “I was inspired from birth,” he said. “I’m fortunate enough to come from a flying family where everybody was a pilot. I grew up embedded in the general aviation culture, attending air shows and socializing with aviators and their families. It’s in my blood.”
That same spark ignited early for Vampire Airshows Pilot Jerry Conley. “There was a kids’ book called Jerry the Jet that I read when I was six or seven years old,” Conley shared. “I have wanted to be a pilot ever since reading it.” Conley grew up in the small town of Beaver, Ohio, where he said many people expected him to follow a more traditional path, farming or becoming a truck driver, but because of that book he read as a boy, he aspired to do something different. “You can be anything you want to be if you want it bad enough,” he said. “Don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t be what you want or do what you dream.”
That message may resonate deeply in Texarkana, where the airshow shines a spotlight on the future of aviation education through Texarkana College’s growing aviation program. “Being part of the Texarkana aviation program means more than just learning a trade,” said aviation student Logan Miller. “It’s about becoming part of something that’s taking off right here at home. Being in a program that’s brand new to the area, you get a lot of insight into how this could be great for the community and yourself. I’m proud to be in a position where I can grow alongside the industry, and I’m excited to play a role in shaping the future of aviation in Texarkana.”
Texarkana College students will volunteer throughout the event, helping with logistics and operations while gaining firsthand exposure to the industry. “Aviation is much bigger than what most people understand,” Sanders said. “The show will give you an opportunity to see many of the different niches in aviation to help you envision where you fit in.”
Sanders speaks about aviation not simply as a profession but as a lifelong calling. “Aviation matters to me about as much as water matters to a fish,” he said. “It’s not what I do, but very much a part of who I am.” He hopes the airshow will help connect Texarkana to greater opportunities and remind people that the city is ready to grow. “I want my two daughters to grow up in a community that is plugged into limitless opportunities,” he said. “Events like this connect Texarkana to a global network and signal to the rest of aviation that we are open for business.”
City leaders agree. “The airshow is a great opportunity to bring people together to showcase Texarkana and, at the same time, create a positive economic and community impact for our region,” said David Orr, City Manager of Texarkana, Texas.
Tyler Richards, City Manager for Texarkana, Arkansas, echoed these sentiments. “The 2026 airshow will be a tremendous opportunity for Texarkana to showcase our community as a great place to live, work and invest,” Richards said. “We are excited to show our visitors the pride and hospitality Texarkana offers.”
Behind the scenes, the event has required enormous commitment to planning and safety. Sanders noted that the airshow safety and logistics committee has spent two years coordinating emergency response efforts, including on-site medical, law enforcement, airfield firefighters, and city firefighters. The Department of Homeland Security has provided cybersecurity assets to ensure we have a secure event. The airport conducted a mass casualty exercise earlier this year with TC students to stress-test the emergency response, where over 80 people were rendered care and evacuated. This event included every emergency response agency in our area.
The airshow is being coordinated with the expertise of David Schultz Airshows, a nationally respected organization celebrating 33 years of service. The company has built its reputation around safety, precision, and professionalism, even earning recognition from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for extraordinary service. They were recognized in June 2013 as the first airshow company to receive the “FAA Regional Administrator’s Award for Extraordinary Service.” At David Schultz Airshows, everything revolves around safety.
That same precision is what audiences will witness in the sky. “Many people seeking their pilot’s license struggle to fly around a point in a perfect circle or fly a perfect rectangle, both of which are required by the FAA to award someone a private license,” Sanders explained. “Typically, it takes 60 to 70 hours of practice to be able to do those maneuvers. What you see at the airshow is light-years beyond basic private pilot maneuvers. You have to look at each maneuver as a work of art that took literal years to perfect.”
Sanders compares the performances to masterpieces hanging in museums. “Just like someone could be struck by the Mona Lisa or an original Norman Rockwell, a perfectly executed inverted loop happening simultaneously with three other aircraft is just as much a work of art and mastery.” That is what makes an airshow so special.
It is patriotism. It is engineering. It is courage, precision, and imagination. It is history roaring overhead while future dreams take shape below.
As America celebrates 250 years of independence this July, the Texarkana Airshow will serve as a reminder that our nation’s story has always been written by dreamers willing to look up. On June 27, thousands of eyes in Texarkana will do exactly that!
