A crashing wave of sound follows the F-18 as it skims clouds far above crowds at the Denton Air Fair and Airshow at the Denton Airport on Saturday.

More than 10,000 attendees braved the sun and humidity to spend the afternoon with their eyes fixed on the sky. Small camps seeking shade huddled underneath the planes and wings dotting an auxiliary runway near the control tower.

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Mike “Spanky” Galloway flies by the crowd in a Pitts S2T Aerobatic plane during the Denton Airshow at the Denton Airport on Saturday.

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Fourteen-year-old George McSweeney and his family had front runway seats to see aerial tricks, setting up their folding chairs at 10:30 a.m. Saturday to ensure they snagged good seats, he said.

The teenager and his older brother got a bird’s-eye view of the Courthouse on the Square and other parts of the city during a helicopter ride, he said.

George would like to become a helicopter pilot with the U.S. Navy one day and said the Denton Airshow was a good place to learn about aircraft.

“It’s cool,” George said. “I didn’t know I was going. It was a surprise from my parents.”

George wasn’t the only one finding cool new experiences, despite the heat.

The 11th year of the Denton Air Fair and Airshow exceeded event organizers’ expectations too, said Amanda Addington, the marketing director of the air show.

“Overall everything [at the airshow] went smoothly, and we were very pleased with it,” Addington said. “It was hot, but we kept everyone hydrated. We’re looking forward to next year. We’ll keep it on Father’s Day weekend; it helps our attendance stay up. We were pleased with the crowds.”

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John Crawford takes pictures of a British BAC 167 Strikemaster during the Denton Air Fair and Airshow.

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When the show started Saturday afternoon, the lines for parking and tickets were long, but attendees said they didn’t have to wait long to enter.

This year, spectators were allowed to park on an adjacent field, then rode shuttle buses  to the event, and more volunteers helped distribute tickets, Addington said.

The increase in attendees is a scenario playing out across the country as people look to vacation closer to home, said David Schultz, air boss of the show.

“Across the country, people are staying closer to home, and we’ve seen a 50 percent increase in attendance at air shows,” Schultz said.

Official crowd figures won’t be released until later this week, but the estimation of 10,000 to 15,000 attendees is likely to be accurate, Addington said.

Although there are larger air shows across the country, Denton’s air show was impressive for a smaller airport, said attendee Lou Lewvaughn.

Lewvaughn and his 4-year-old grandson, Tyler Tinsley, spent the day touring a favorite of both: airplanes.

Tyler was able to go inside a helicopter and sit in the pilot’s seat of a DC-3 plane, but was unable to see over the dash.

Already outfitted in aviator-style sunglasses, Tyler said he liked the air show because he wants to be a commercial airplane pilot when he grows up.

For Tyler to really understand the aviation industry, it is important to expose him to events like air shows while he’s still young, Lewvaughn said.

Others with aspirations of becoming pilots, including some of the volunteers, said they came out in force Saturday to soak up aviation experience.

Naval Sea Cadet Misty McGee, 17, said she would like to be a Navy SEAL one day and thought the air show would give her an opportunity to see helicopters up close.

The Denton Airshow will help McGee make important decisions as she prepares to enter the reserves, go to college and serve her country, she said.

“It’s a great opportunity to get to see the live stuff,” McGee said. “We get to talk to pilots and see all kinds of stuff.”

CANDACE CARLISLE can be reached at 940-566-6889. Her e-mail address is ccarlisle@dentonrc.com.