ADA – The 6th annual Ada Air Expo kicked off Friday night. Many plans soared high and dipped low. First News even got a first hand look at the show with a ride in an acrobatic plane.

"We try to make it look dangerous, but it's really not,” said acrobatic pilot Patrick Carter.

Patrick Carter is a return performer to the Ada Air Expo and the largest air show in the state of Oklahoma. Carter's father was a pilot, so you might say the rush runs in his blood.

“I was three years old when my dad gave me a poster of (a Pitts) airplane, so it hung on my wall growing up and as soon as I got my first job, that was the first thing I bought - a Pitts,” Carter said.

Carter says Pitts planes are specifically built for doing acrobatics tricks and he's using his plane to its full potential by entertaining crowds and offering rides.
Carter always starts with the most important thing – safety, by putting on a parachute. Then it's take off, and lots of tricks more than a mile above the ground.

But the exciting rides and awesome acrobatic shows aren't the only thing going on at the Ada air show. Event coordinators with the Chamber of Commerce say there will be a Bar-B-Q cook-off, live music and more.

"We're going to have a car show, we're going to have a motorcycle poker run - you name it were going to have it,” said Jennifer Quidas with the Pontotoc County Marketing and Tourism Department. “It's just a way to get everyone in the area to come out and join together and just have a really good time."

There's no admission into the air show or expo. Coordinators say it's a free event that started as a way to promote patriotism and a way for area aviators to give back to the community and pay tribute to the "Warbirds" that have protected our county.

Carter says it's the area's support for aviation and the people that brought him back, and he can't wait to take to the skies again tomorrow.

“I love flying and there’s nothing better than making a plane do something it’s normally not meant to do,” Carter said.

Gates to the Ada Air Expo open at 8 am on Saturday. Then the Air show kicks off at noon. Click below for more information about the expo.

And if you'd like to take an acrobatic ride yourself, pilot Patrick Carter will be offering them throughout the day. For more information, click the link below to visit his website.